A Taste of Our Own Medicine

When humans were first introduced to this Earth, they always acted on impulse. Without hesitation, they saw something they wanted and they took it. If they wanted to eat something, they ate it without regard to the consequences. If they set their sights on the wrong thing - a poisonous mushroom or berry, for instance - they paid the price. They didn't pay any attention to the existing supply of what they wanted; whether there was only one or there were one million of their target, they claimed it for their own benefit. Instinct was everything. Nothing interfered with their determination, their persistence, their grit.

One by one, the tunnel visioned humans depleted the bounty of life that Mother Nature so lovingly created - dwindling down herds of animals to just a few creatures that struggled to survive without their group protection. After they had carelessly eliminated the very last creature of an entire species for the first time, Mother Nature began instilling in humans the sense to think twice - a hesitation, if you will. This now innate tendency to put off taking action (what is now known as procrastination) has allowed countless species the chance to thrive despite the ever-existing human inclination toward destruction. Mother Nature, instead of taking away the deeply embedded motivation to achieve one’s goals, decided to add a new layer to human nature. She deemed that humans must hold themselves back as well if they are to be holding back others.

While many people in this modern world blame procrastination for their struggles to meet their goals at the pace dictated by capitalistic society, they are forgetting the fact that Nature picks the pace of true progress. As human actions get more out of hand, Nature has to implement new means to counteract their misaligned paths toward "progress."

Procrastination has gotten a bad rap for stepping in the way of what humans have convinced themselves are the best courses of action. Admittedly, it does have the negative aspect of causing people to delay positive action as well as negative action, therefore creating alternate problems, such as an increase in food waste. However, it also allows other beings the additional time to reach their full potential while humans struggle to realize what theirs actually is. A little time can lead to a lot of thought. While the system isn't perfect, Mother Nature has decided that a little delay is better than acting too fast. Who are we to disagree with her ruling?