We live in a fast-paced world. We eat fast, we walk fast, we drive fast. We're rushing toward deadlines... often self-imposed ones.
Living by a clock is hard work, and one of the most stressful things to impose on the human psyche. Yet, how often do you look at your watch each day? How often does a voice inside your head tell you to "hurry up"? How often do you look at your calendar, reminding yourself "only X more days until Y"?
I've seen too many people my age with wrinkles... and I, myself, have had close calls with speed-induced franticism. I've been lucky enough to learn to breathe deep into my toes, or with my eyes (ever heard of pranyama?: http://www.yogasite.com/pranayama.htm). I've even had the opportunity to sit in at a buddhist temple. Although I found myself squirming from discomfort after sitting lotus-style for half an hour (my apologies to the resident priest if my squirming disrupted his inner peace), I learnt a lesson about the power of the "now".
Excitement is fun... and I live in varied states of excitement quite often. Agitation, however, is different. It's a state of being unable to sit still or calm oneself. Thoughts are flying through your head willy-nilly and your breath is far up in your chest or even in your throat.
I don't have a lot of wisdom. I just want to make my lucky breaks obvious to others: take tai chi, do yoga, meditate, or take some deep breaths. It certainly can't hurt to calm your mind at least for a couple of minutes a day, and you'll see some wonderful things.