Journalist Carl Honoré realized he was a speed demon when he
couldn't sit still long enough to read bedtime stories to his toddler.
His book, In Praise of Slowness, is a manifesto for opting out of the
cult of speed.
What's so bad about rushing around?
I'm all for people being alive, alert, exciting. Not all speed is
bad. What's wrong is when that takes over everything, and it comes to
define you.
You write about the popularity of gardening, yoga, slow-motion
weight lifting, the slow food movement and alternative medicine. What
ties all these together?
These are all reactions against the prevailing modern notion that
faster is better and that everything is a race against the clock. Often,
slower is better than faster, getting us away from that anxious,
neurotic, constantly driven feeling.
If I've got two young kids, a demanding boss, and an hour-long
commute, how can I possibly slow down?
You can still move fast with a slow frame of mind, and the way
people get there is by carving out moments of slowness. People who dash
around find it hard to relax: They are fidgeting, watching TV, surfing
the Net. One way to break through that is to switch off the TV and sit
quietly for 10 minutes, breathing deeply. If you can insert moments like
that into your day, they can insulate against the panicky rush-rush-rush
feeling.
How have you changed your life?
I meditate, for one thing. I also cook more. I watch a lot less TV,
and that's made a big difference. Now, if I catch myself walking really
fast for no apparent reason or chafing in the supermarket queue, I take a
deep breath and ask, "Do I really need to move this quickly?" You hit the
pause button, ask the question and it gives a kind of clarity.
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