On slowing down

 

I belong to a generation that spent Sunday afternoons as children in the shade of the walnut tree in the garden. While the adults chatted, we children drew, threaded beads, or played.

Then, with adult life everything accelerated around me, and at some point, I found myself running, striving, achieving, just like everyone else.

 

Where has the beauty of slowness disappeared? Why are we all in such a hurry?

I understand that in a fast-paced world, we all feel that we should not be left behind. We are full of plans and goals, and the expectations of the workplace and the roles we play in our families and circle of friends demand that we must perform. We cannot afford to stop just right now. We need to be at the centre of events because that's where we live our lives, where things happen to us.

 

Lately, I've been thinking about what if the opposite is true. What if, by learning to slow down and consciously exist in the present, that's when the real things happen to us?