How did we get so fast? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down?

~ Live & Learn
erin-cone
Because that’s kind of the world that we live in now, a world stuck in fast-forward. A world obsessed with speed, with doing everything faster, with cramming more and more into less and less time. Every moment of the day feels like a race against the clock. To borrow a phrase from Carrie Fisher, which is in my bio there; I’ll just toss it out again — “These days even instant gratification takes too long.” […]

I think that in the headlong dash of daily life, we often lose sight of the damage that this roadrunner form of living does to us. We’re so marinated in the culture of speed that we almost fail to notice the toll it takes on every aspect of our lives — on our health, our diet, our work, our relationships, the environment and our community. And sometimes it takes a wake-up call, doesn’t it, to alert us to the fact that we’re hurrying through our lives, instead of actually living them; that we’re living the fast life, instead of the good life. And I think for many people, that wake-up call takes the form of an illness. You know, a burnout, or eventually the body says, “I can’t take it anymore,” and throws in the towel. […]

And I had two questions in my head.

The first was, how did we get so fast?

And the second is, is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down?

~ Carl Honore, In Praise of Slowness

Art: Erin Cone with “Traverse” from the exhibition “Ineffable” (via Mennyfox55)

26 thoughts on “How did we get so fast? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down?”

  2. if you could answer this question on a blog you would be a millionaire….

    greed – I want it yesterday – I am not satisfied with yesterday’s technology – mad really – go for a walk on the beach if you can – remove your socks and feel the cool sand between your toes – listen to the surf and look – and no I haven’t been drinking 🙂

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  3. As cliche as it sounds, I think we have to balance them both. You don’t always have a chance to slow down at work…that is the business world. But once you leave that grind behind, you have to slow down..at least on your way to enjoy things you love. Like kids and grandkids and barbeques on weekends.

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  6. Yes, good questions!
    I often think of this! Why?
    Because I had my wake up call.

    So blessed it was early enough to still live my life, slow mode.

    But I can’t be a hypocrite.
    My world still depends on speed in indirect ways.

    But, it’s always possible to slow down.

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      1. I pray you never have one David.
        I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
        Mine was not health related.
        But, my wake up call brought countless blessings with it for which I can’t be grateful enough.
        Must admit, took years to see my blessings 😉

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  7. caught between the rock and the hard place with those two……. we all know, we should slow down. How to do so and keep a job and the family going is the pointy bit though, isn’t it?

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  10. Great questions to be sure. As Ferris Bueller said……life moves pretty fast. if you don’t stop once in a while to look around……you might miss it. Truer words were never spoken! We’re so caught up in the “I Want It NOW” generation that we have completely forgotten how to ENJOY each moment life offers us, as we’re so eager to cram as much as we can into every single day.

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