If you want to go fast go alone.
If you want to go far go together.
African proverb
The origins of this proverb are a bit muddy. A quick internet search reveals it is most likely an African proverb but which country and which people it derived from are unclear.
I love it for its simplicity and depth.
If I were my own best friend I would tell myself to take some time and reflect on its meaning… Go fast or go far? Could you do both? Would you want to?
How many times have I gone fast? Sprinted from the line. Kept on going at a breakneck speed. Gotten there before anyone else. I’ve “won” for speed, for fastness. Yet I find myself alone. Or lonely.
How many times have I gone together? It’s definitely slower. Sometimes laborious or arduous. Sometimes I want to uncouple myself from “together” and get there faster (wherever “there” is). Yet in the end, staying with the group and pushing forward, we go far (farther). We see and do things I could never have accomplished on my own. I am in community. I am not lonely.
So my friends, do you go fast? Do you go far? Can you see a space where you can do both? And which is more important in your life now – to go fast or to go far?
If I were my own best friend... 
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