I love Latin phrases. I can't explain why. Perhaps it's because they're OLD. Perhaps it's because they prick me to think carefully. Perhaps they just sound lyrical. But I keep a list of them. I know - I'm a nerd.
This is a new favorite: festina lente.
It means: hurry slowly.
What does that even mean??
It reminds me of the song "Do Few Things" from the film Brother Sun and Sister Moon (about St. Francis):
If you want your dream to be
Take your time, go slowly
Do few things but do them well
Heartfelt work grows purely
If you want to live life free
Take your time, go slowly
Do few things but do them well
Heartfelt work grows purely
Day by day, stone by stone
Build your secret slowly
Day by day, you'll grow too
You'll know heaven's glory
Do few things and do them well. Not necessarily perfectly - just well enough!
Brother Lawrence put it this way (in The Practice of the Presence of God):
“We ought not to be weary of doing little things
for the love of God,
who regards not the greatness of the work,
but the love with which it is performed.”
And from another wise old saint (Mother Teresa):
Not all of us can do great things,
but we can do small things with great love.
Festina lente also brings to mind:
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with [all] your might.
~ Ecclesiastes 9:10a (ESV)
and
Whatever you do, work heartily,
as for the Lord and not for men.
~ Colossians 3:23 (ESV)
So off I go - to hurry slowly. To just do my few things but do them well. To do my small things with great love. To work with all my might - heartily for the Lord. No perfection or pressure. Just patience and steadfastness. Yes - the finished work satisfies me - but it's process that shapes me!
