It’s that wonderful time of year again. Back to school. There are those individuals who welcome this time after a summer of lazing around. And then there’s the rest of us. The ones who dread being overscheduled, with too much to do, too many places to go, and too little time during the day.
Well, it’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?
Do we all really need to be busy all the time? What ever happened to “free time”, “play time”, or whatever you want to call it? You know, the time of day when kids can indulge their imagination, and adults can indulge their desire to be alone for a while?
It seems that as time marches on, we feel there is more and more to do and the expectation that it will be done quickly. Yet, our accomplishments are far outweighed by the quality of our life. We plod through our days exhausted, distracted, and constantly feeling inadequate.
In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honore is the story of how one “speedaholic” changed his life and found balance. He decribes how this desire to slow down and actually live life is actually turning into a movement. Overwhelmed individuals everywhere are beginning to change their environments; their schools, offices, neighborhoods, etc. into places where speed is no longer a priority and life is.
The whole thing reminds me of when I traveled to Europe in the mid-90’s. I had never been there, and found restaurant service frustrating. It seemed to take forever to receive your food, and afterwards, the check. When I arrived home, I realized it was a mindset that Europeans held onto dearly. The idea that meals were to be enjoyed, savored, and experienced. Time was not an issue when food was involved. This was a foreign concept to me, but on further reflection, it made perfect sense. What’s the point of rushing through a meal when you wind up eating more, feeling sick, and not enjoying it?
I am by no means a convert to the slowness movement. I still find myself trying to do three things at once, balancing my cell phone while trying to eat my lunch and pay for my dry cleaning all at the same time. But, having read Honore’s book, I certainly do appreciate the value of looking at time with a different perspective.
-Victoria
Read it or Weep 