The speed culture
This is me sitting in a pink bathing suit on a pink towel slowing down on the beach in Sagres, Portugal.
Where has the time gone? I’m running out of time! Life feels like a race against time! I have no time for anything! Time seems to move faster the older we get - days, months and years just flying by, dissolving and merging into a big blur of past events.
Do you know that feeling of being trapped in the speedy wheel of life? Then you might want to keep reading. This blogpost will offer you some insightful views on speed and why you might want to practice slowing down.
So, I’m currently reading a book with the title “The practice is the path” which is written by Tias Little. It is about “lessons and reflections on the transformative power of yoga” (don’t be shushed away by its promising title please!). I want to share the inspiration with you, that the book sparked in me after first being skeptical about it. So yes, please know that big parts of this blogposts will just be sharing some of Little’s bites of writing, topped with some personal views of myself.
In the library, when I picked that book from the shelf, I found myself torn between curiosity and skepticism (again: the title and you haven’t even seen the dreamy cover). But luckily, I intuitively decided to give it a go (curiosity for the win!). It’s the great thing about library books, isn’t it? You can just stop reading and return it, if it doesn’t resonate with you. And also: You don’t need to pay anything (because yes, I’m the type of person that stupidly pushes herself to read a book when made a financial investment).
Little shares his knowledge using a wonderfully colorful language. The book has depth but at the same time doesn’t feel too heavy to read. I also like that it is being cut into rather short chapters, short enough for a nice little bed-time read (and then I re-read the parts I’m very interested in with a more alert and fresh mind in the daytime). This book has greats insights not only for Yogins/Yoginis but everybody interested in life and well-being.
I particularly like chapter 3 on “How speed gets trapped in the body”. It starts like this:
„We are a culture of speed. The world today moves at such a dizzying pace that it is difficult to avoid being pulled into a vortex of speed.”
Little describes how speed is getting trapped in the body and how that affects our physical body and our mind. The stress, when we rush and hurry through life, causes for example the connective tissues of the body to seize up and tighten, limiting flexibility. He also reminds, that it is hard to be present in the onslaught of speed. And when we manage to pause, sit still, and follow our breath, we might feel overwhelmed by the traffic of our thoughts. Items on our to-do list, past conversations, or money matters rush in, leading to restlessness, agitation or pain.
He goes on writing that, speed is antithetical to the practice of mindfulness. When we move swiftly, the world passes by in a blur. When we hasten through experiences, we fail to notice the nuanced expression of each passing thing. When we strive to get to our destination, the forward rush is all-consuming, and we only think about getting to where we are going. In the fast-track experience, we do not look around or take anything in. It is difficult to see clearly when we’re moving lickety-split down the track.
So why don’t we just stop rushing and take it all down a notch (or two or ten)?
Little might have an explanation for that: Speed is addictive. When rushing becomes habitual we hurry even when we have nowhere to go! Sometimes we go fast for no good reason.
And here I (quickly!) jump in with my own little experience: Since I read that I noticed myself rushing on my way to work, walking to work at a fast pace. In order to be there just a little earlier, getting there more quickly. And this is me being on time, not too late. And I’m only “saving” a few minutes probably, instead of arriving with a calmer mind. It’s automatic, like my brain is saying: why going slow if you can walk quickly? And by walking quickly, the rush takes over my body, my body getting way more alerted than necessary. A feeling of stress being thrown into the mix. I started to purposefully slow down my walk to work, try not seeing the way to work as something to overcome as quickly as possible. It’s part of my day, who knows what might happen and I’d just rush by without noticing. (Well, tbh probably nothing too exciting, as my way to work takes 5 minutes, but you get my point, right?)
Little says, that it is by slowing down that we return home. It might feel risky to slow down though. It requires going against the prevailing high-speed connectivity of the time that we live in. We might get scared of losing out and lagging behind, if we drop the pace. But our culture of speed now threatens the very equilibrium of the planet. Collectively we must slow down so we do not burn ourselves up. There are numerous ways to participate in this slowdown. It begins in the body by slowing the breath and the heart rate, lowering blood pressure and sleeping longer and deeper. It starts with you.
Taking up a regular yoga and meditation practice certainly helped me feel the joy of slowing down. It calms me also to know that there is a practice that allows me taking out some pace out of my life and thoughts and the more regular I commit to my practice, the better I feel.
Maybe you want to slow down bit yourself?
