I´m just reading a good book: „In Praise of Slow“ from Carl Honoré.
I know that I am going too fast very often.
And I keep trying to decelerate every now and then:
eat more slowly, walk more slowly, drive more slowly, cook more slowly.
But it´s hard to change your habits!
My mom has always been a fast one, too and kept us hurrying along.
I think that was the way she was brought up as a child, too.
Our society wants to be fast and efficient, productive and time saving.
Time is money they say. Time to earn money.
Only that a lot of people never seem to know how to savor their wealth!
I like the new word I found in the book: time-sickness.
We often suffer from time-sickness!
But why does the time make us feel bad? Although it is only an abstract thing?
Maybe it is because we know that our time on earth is limited.
We will run out of time someday.
Thank God time is eternal anyway! Death is not the end!
I have so much time!
Relief!
I don´t want to be a slave of time.
The Lilliputians in Gulliver´s Travels thought that time was the God of Gulliver
because he consulted his watch so often...
And that habit is not even very old! Clocks, even church clocks, only exist since the 14th century!
Before that time people watched the sun and did things when it felt right, not when a wristwatch told them to.
And if it was important to being exactly on time, they decided to meet at sunrise.
Like we can see in Wild West movies, where the duel takes place at sunrise…
It relaxes me that the author does not simply suggest to make everything more slowly in order to live a better life.
He suggests to seek a balanced lifestyle and learn to decide for ourselves when it is best to do something slowly and when it is better to be fast.
I like that. Being slowly all the time would stress me out!
Sometimes I like being fast or I think it will be worth it to hurry up.
But not all the time!
There are a lot of things and occasions where I want to learn to do it slowly and savor the moment.
Eating for example.
But I can´t do that every time. Sometimes I just eat a handful of nuts or a banana on the go.
But it makes such a difference when I eat a simple thing as bread very slowly!
It tastes totally different, much more intense.
Especially when I´m not just eating slowly but also conscious and with full attention.
That´s why it is a good idea to eat alone sometimes. Without talking, music, phone or TV.
It´s a good practice for attentiveness.
But as I said before: I don´t want to do that all the time!
Some verses in the bible seem to deepen the pressure on us to make good use of our time.
Or at least that´s how it echoes in our ears: “Seize the day!” Carpe diem!
And we think that means God wants us to hurry up.
I searched the passage in my bible and was suprised:
“Don´t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuit of darkness.
Watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”
(Ephesians 5, 11+16)
I want to use my head and decide if I want to be slow or fast.
Where do I want to go? And why?
I want to watch my steps!
I want to live a balanced life: fast and slow.
There is a season for everything… (Ecclesiastes 3,1)
And time is not the most essential thing. It´s about something totally different…
I´m curious about what else I´m going to learn in reading that book. I´m not that far yet.
I want to read it slowly…
“Be still and know that I am God!” Psalm 46,11
