I was browsing through the TED talks the other day and came upon a very interesting talk by Carl Honore praising ‘slowness.’ (If you have not visited the TED talk site you should; there are over 400 twenty minute talks by famous and enormously talented people available on the site.) This blog post is my third one on ‘slowness’ and the summertime seems to be an appropriate time to consider changing our pace of life.
“Journalist Carl Honore believes the Western world’s emphasis on speed erodes health, productivity and quality of life. But there’s a backlash brewing, as everyday people start putting the brakes on their all-too-modern lives.”
There is actually a Slow Movement website that provides some interesting perspectives on slow food, slow schools and slow living.
One of the themes on the website deals with the lack of connectedness in our modern fast-paced lives. The summer months provide us with opportunities to re-connect, particularly if we are taking some holiday time.
It’s also the perfect time to re-connect with your kids. I wrote earlier about getting ‘out’ with your kids and reconnecting them (and yourself) with the natural world. As the Slow Movement website puts it: “To be simplistic, the solution is to pay attention, on purpose, in a systematic way, in the present moment. That is, we need to be mindful.” Take some slow time this summer to be ‘in the moment’ with your kids and savor the moments.
Editor’s Note: George Briggs’ other posts related to slowing down include Slow Schools and “Messing Around” (not over-scheduling kids).
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