Slow is the new fast

One way to measure the worth of a book is whether reading it has caused you to do things differently. That is definitely true for “In Praise of Slowness,” by Carl Honoré, which I finished last week.

The author, a Canadian journalist, relates his investigations into a variety of movements (Slow Food, meditation, yoga, flexible work schedules, making cities more walkable, etc.) that all have the same purpose: to slow down and break free from the constant rush of daily life and its time-saving (but soulless) accessories - fast food, BlackBerries, etc.

Honoré launched this project after reading about a series of “one minute bedtime stories” in the newspaper and thinking what a great idea that was. He realized then just how obsessed he had become with saving time, to the point where he was willing to sacrifice time with his son in order to make a few more phone calls for work.

Here is how Honoré describes the “Slow movement”:

“What the world needs, and what the Slow movement offers, is a middle path, a recipe for marrying la dolce vita with the dynamism of the information age. The secret is balance: instead of doing everything faster, do everything at the right speed. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Sometimes somewhere in between. Being Slow means never rushing, never striving to save time just for the sake of it. It means remaining calm and unflustered even when circumstances force us to speed up.”

Since reading this book, I have embraced many of its ideals and become more committed to a few “slow” things I was already doing. I’ve started meditating every day, cooking more, going to yoga classes (finally), and I’m cutting back on TV (easier to do in the summer when there’s nothing on anyway ;) ). I’m also trying to make more time for reading (hooray!).