Speed up or slow down?
In two very interesting articles, CNN has 'Slow movement' wants you to ease up, chill out, while the BBC has Speed up, life's too short.Both articles make the same basic point. Time is short and precious. We never have enough of it. The Slow Movement wants you to slow down the pace of your life. To proverbially stop and smell the roses. While Lucy Kellaway of the BBC wants you to speed up. There is so much you can do that slowing down will keep you from life's many wonderful experiences.
While I certainly agree with the Slow Movement's push for mandatory vacation time for all jobs and election days being national holidays, I don't agree with their overall purpose. I'm with Lucy Kellaway. There has been no better time to be alive than in 2008. My parents traveled to Alaska for a cruise two weeks ago. My sister is off to the Caribbean this week. Prime Minister Olmert of Israel was speaking at an event a block from my house on Tuesday.
In the next week, I'll spend time with my close friends, see a new movie, go bowling, meet new and interesting people, and plan a trip to Las Vegas, Seattle or Nairobi. Or all 3. Plus I'll write quick notes to a dozen or so friends on their Facebook wall. Oh, and I'll do my full-time job.
I want to get an iPhone so I can move quicker. So I never have forced downtime - waiting for a prescription to be filled, waiting for a train, etc - and can continue my life. I am tempted to sign up to Twitter so I know what my friends are doing and they know what I'm doing.
Lord willing, I have 50 more years on this Earth. That's 18,250 days. That's 438,000 hours. I want to make every one of them count.
So what are you? Fast or slow?
posted by Expat Teacher @ 11:34 AM
