I am noticing that I am fast. Not in that raised eyebrow kind of way. More's the pity. But I do everything at speed. I consume food, liquids, books at a quite a pace. "Next! What's new? What's for pudding?" I've been reading a book called In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore - How a worldwide movement is challenging The Cult of Speed. It's a very seductive philosophy this slowing down thing. The book explores a new slower pace in many different areas from food to sex.
Is slowing down the route to peace? Does peace live a 'slow' world or in a fast one? Discuss.
Maybe it's both. Maybe the route to peace is being able to change gear from first to fifth and accelerate and brake when needed. It's embracing both slow and fast.
I think I'm probably very good at the extremes - very slow (comatose in bed - hurrah!) or very fast (juggling many projects/childcare/life while eating my breakfast and watching a film) I've always been a very all or nothing person.
So is the route to peace - accepting myself exactly as that and celebrating that and finding a way to make all or nothing work for me? Or should I be practicising driving in 2nd and 3rd gear?
What do you think?
I've always though of a peaceful living being one that was not just slow, but probably a bit...'floaty'. Kind of like living a bubble existence...
It's strange the beliefs that lie beneath the surface until someone makes a comment and it stops you dead in your tracks and causes you to give it a morsel of thought.
So, who put it there in the first place? I don't recall sitting down and deciding on this 'floaty' peaceful existance thing at all!
So, come on then - own up! Who was it?
Posted by: Ben | Tuesday, 15 May 2007 at 08:29 PM