Make Haste Slowly
Make haste slowly. Festina lente is a Latin phrase that carries one of life’s most beautiful messages within it. At its core, it speaks of the importance of finding inner harmony. This timeless saying points to an existential balance: hurry—but do so gently. If you look around, you can sense this truth. When you observe life calmly, you begin to notice an underlying order. Everything moves slowly, yet swiftly. What a striking paradox! And yet, it isn’t a contradiction at all—it is the harmony of opposites. Things that seem opposed are often, when viewed from the other side, the closest to one another. Just as our own back feels like the farthest place in the world—yet it is not. What appears distant is often what is closest to us, even if we refuse to accept it, even if we do not like it at all.
Festina lente exists in every area of life. Balance and harmony are born from the union of opposites. Everything exists through its opposite. Black is what reveals white most clearly. The presence of bad makes good more beautiful. And what exposes bad is the existence of good. Although we define good and bad ourselves, everything is, in essence, neutral. To reject the opposite is to reject truth itself. It is to miss the opportunity for harmony. And missing harmony means overlooking the greatest source of energy in existence. Nature’s energy is hidden in the balance of opposites: darkness and light, night and day, cold and heat. Life emerges from the harmony and balance of these two seemingly opposing forces. And so do we.
Let it be slow, but never stopping; let it be fast, but without haste. When you find balance, you will realize that your true power lies there. Your life energy will emerge once you reach that balance. When you accept this, your only aim will be to achieve it. What truly carries you toward your dreams is seeking and finding balance within yourself, balance in your life, and harmony in your mind.
Like a bird rising by flapping its wings and then gliding through the air. This is what will carry you far. Once the bird rises high enough, it stops flapping. When it becomes one with the sky and learns to move in harmony with the wind, balance has been achieved. And then, all it needs to do is preserve that balance and glide joyfully toward its destination.
Festina lente. Make haste, slowly. Never stopping—yet never rushing. Calm, unburdened, and unwearied.
Balance and harmony are the one and only source of the inner power that will carry you forward.
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