There it sat on the bookshelves in my office/dining room/music studio. In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honoré.
Place aside for me to read.
Someday.
Maybe when I wasn’t so busy.
As I was packing my bags for a quick trip to California last week, I asked him what I should read.
He handed me In Praise of Slowness.
And so the journey began.
—
I know at least forty of you ordered Carl’s book. If you didn’t, don’t worry. I’ll try to use the book as much as possible in this blog series so anyone can follow along. If you want to order it now and jump in on future posts, here’s the link.
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Honoré begins the book with his own personal experience of a life ruled by hurry and busyness. He’s a successful journalist running a million miles an hour and sees the article that actually inspired this book — a piece called “The One Minute Bedtime Story.” As a father of a toddler, he fully understands the idea to speed up bed-time so he can move on to his evening routine of more and more rush. As he hovers over the purchase button, wondering how quickly Amazon can ship him the book he’s struck with a thought:
“Have I gone completely insane?”
He continues,
“My whole life has turned into an exercise of hurry, in packing more and more into every hour. I am Scrooge with a stopwatch, obsessed with saving every last scrap of time, a minute here, a few seconds there…”
And he wonders why all of the world around us seems to be in such a rush; in the same “cult of speed” (a term I love).
He asks if it’s possible or even desirable to take time to slow down.
He’s clear about his message early on: he is not proposing a war against speed.
Instead, it’s taking a step back and looking at our love of speed – an addiction? An obsession?
An idol?
(Cue punch in the stomach…now).
Has hurry become an idol?
(Yes, please keep chewing on that morsel…tough, isn’t it?)
Honoré describes physical side effects of hurry and burnout (hey, wait, I wrote a book on some of this stuff too…) like insomnia, weight gain, headaches, poor diet, and lack of exercise.
He makes an interesting observation that the world’s fastest nations are also the fattest nations.
Other symptoms of this “busy idolatry” impact us socially.
We don’t look forward to things anymore.
We enjoy things too quickly, and the moment that we should be savoring is dismissed.
The word boredom hardly existed 150 years ago but now it’s one of our most common fears.
I know I’m afraid to be bored.
Afraid of what the silence brings.
Afraid I’m being lazy.
Or unproductive.
And therefore…worthless.
Something I’ve used hurry to medicate is my fear of becoming vulnerable in real community. If I’m busy, it leaves me no time to connect beyond a superficial level.
I’m afraid to really let people in, and so my calendar owns me, and it’s an easy way to cop out of relationships and make excuses.
Because really…who’s going to argue with a calendar?
Honoré quotes Milan Kundera,
“When things happen too fast, nobody can be certain about anything, about anything at all, not even about himself.”
(Insecurity much?)
If we’re insecure of ourselves, we can’t be who we truly are with others.
And so we, who are created for others, and others for us, slowly pass away into a time warp of busyness and hurry.
And we wonder why we’re lonely. And we think we’re completely stuck.
We think there’s no way out because life has to be this way.
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And this is just the introduction to the book…!
Over the next few blog posts in this series, we’ll cover a few chapters at once, but this introduction was so rich, I felt it deserved a post of its own.
Comments
25 responses to “In Praise of Slowness #1: The Idol of Hurry”
My book is in the mail!!
So excited to read through it.
God has been stirring these same thoughts in me over the last several months. I will now go order this book. Stillness is such a challenge for us, for me. I desire to be productive at all times, and I don’t want to live that way. I am so afraid of missing out, but in reality, I AM missing out…on stillness.
I am terrified of vulnerability! I have discovered that I intentionally keep incredibly busy to avoid life. I recently spent several weeks in an intensive depression program. One of the hardest things was “Mindfulness Walks” – where we would slowly walk and observe with our entire being. No talking. No iPods. Just being. The idea was to be in the moment. To not worry or fret about past or future events. To slow down and absorb life. creation.
I also had more downtime than I wanted. Time to fully process what I was learning. Time to really get to know people on a deeper level. Time to get to know me. Slowing down is hard. scary. necessary.
Thanks for the blog! I am not reading the book since I have 3 in process right now … (slowing down, eh?)
.-= Chris K´s last blog ..Knowing God – John 1:48 =-.
Wow Anne this is good stuff and such a confirmation of stuff God has been just beginning to prick my heart about. I had a couple of ouch moments in reading this but this one kicked me the hardest:
“Something I’ve used hurry to medicate is my fear of becoming vulnerable in real community. If I’m busy, it leaves me no time to connect beyond a superficial level.
I’m afraid to really let people in, and so my calendar owns me, and it’s an easy way to cop out of relationships and make excuses. Because really…who’s going to argue with a calendar?”
Talk about a spot on description of how I run my life. I use my busyness as a sort of badge of honor. “Hey look how busy I am; I’m so important because I’m just so busy (insert sarcasm here”. The truth is I’ve been using it as an excuse and quite frankly as you’ve pointed out here as an idol. I know this is not how God wants me to live. This is not me living my best life; the life I was born to live. I want to change; I’m trying to change. With God’s help I believe I will tear down this idol and embrace the richness of the life He has for me.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts. I look forward to reading the rest of the posts.
Currently I work a 60 70 hour work week to help pay for medical care etc. By nature I’m the woman who loves quiet contemplation. When my schedule changed it was a tough transition. Interestingly though, that kind of schedule has helped sharply focus what really is important, which is my relationship with God and with other people. Because time is such a premium for me, I’ve learned to make the most of it and really be in the moment with others when I’m with them, and to really take the time to be with Jesus in a deeper relational way too. I loved your comments about the book so far and I just ordered the book for my kindle. I’m looking forward to more discussion.
.-= RawFaith´s last blog ..A Note About Previous Posts … =-.
Is it fear that keeps us from living in a place of serenity and peace?
That keeps us frantically running, mindlessly searching for more and more of whatever we think will finally do it for us?
Ever stimulated, never satisfied?
So what are we so afraid of?
.-= Linda Stoll´s last blog .."Christian Fatigue Syndrome" =-.
This guy is right on the money. Sounds like a great read. For a long time, I hurried through life out of insecurity and fear of being bored. I thought if I took things slowly, I didn’t have a life. And If I didn’t have a life…I wasn’t worthy. Things are different now and I’ve discovered I have more of a life (deeper friendships) than I ever did before.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..Wanted: More Men (and women) Like Joshua and Caleb Part 2 =-.
This is a beautiful concept, one worth careful consideration for its application. John Ortberg calls it the “unhurried life” and Dallas Willard calls it the “practice of slowing.” I’m interested to read the rest of your thoughts as well.
.-= Felicity´s last blog ..To Begin =-.
GUILTYYYYYYYY
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..Hope… =-.
The hurry hurry hurry life was driven into me by the church I use to go to. I’m reading the book and want to underline everything. Just being is a difficult thing in the northeast but slowly God is getting my attention. thanks Ann.
Man is this true. I first heard Dr. Richard Swenson talk about this several years ago, and he called the concept “Margins,” (there’s a book by the same title) using the metaphor of a book. A book without margins is difficult to read, busy, unappealing to the eye. We need margins in our lives as well, in our finances, our material possessions, relationships, and our time.
He was the first person that I heard use the phrase “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry.”
I should read Mad Church Disease, and then I would hope that the rest of the staff at the church where I’m employed would also read it, but I know they wouldn’t, or they would and they’d say “Yeah, that sounds nice. Now let’s get back to the real world.”
I am so amazingly busy right now. And it’s all “church work” or “God’s work” (yeah, right). I think “God’s work” would tend to make you feel more alive in a way, rather than more drained.
.-= Chris´s last blog ..5 Ways to Deal With Distractions =-.
very proud of you and everything that you do!
i can definitly agree with those statements. 2.5 years ago a transistion started so i wish things would have progressed faster. A bunch of new friends and a great job is what i was expecting. And just now i am slowly getting some concrete friendships. Those things take time and there is no sense in rushing things. Take a day at a time.
.-= Matthew Ryan Wood´s last blog ..Lessons from Lazarus…and playoff update =-.
I’m not necessarily in a hurry task-wise, but I wonder if there is an idol of hurry in terms of dreams, even if they’re good? That’s on my mind today…
.-= Josh´s last blog ..Fridays Are [sometimes] For Music =-.
I would MOST certainly think so Josh. I mean think about a woman carrying a baby- like us with our dreams- they don’t just pop out right? And I HAVE to believe that in some way, hopefully MANY ways, we are being cultivated, developed and nurtured in the wait, just like that child.
IDK-
I think the last year of my life has been spent on the development and cultivation of not only my dreams but on me. Not in a vain way at all, in a God preparing way.
Cheers.
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..Hope… =-.
I think when we hurry it makes us feel important – especially at work. “Look at me! I have so much to do! I am so needed!”. And it’s true many times – but sometimes it’s because we’ve not shared the load, signed up for too many commitments, or see the need for down time as a weakness. In other words, it becomes a nightmare of our own making. So I wonder if we are addicted to hurry, or if we’re addicted to the feelings of importance we get from that frenetic lifestyle?
I just returned from Hawaii and many days spent on the beach. Read my latest post to see what I learned about hurry from that.
And let’s be honest, when we slow down and our quiet, our fears, our insecurities, our pain sometimes floats to the surface and we’re forced to take them out and look at them. We can’t ignore them anymore!
.-= Jan Owen´s last blog ..Lessons From the Beach =-.
Ok, you pushed me over the edge. I am going to order it. I feel like once i resigned from my job and we moved my life has slowed down. I work monday-friday 12-6, and i work at a coffee shop, so when i am done with work it doesn’t go home with me. That is my only schedule. It has been so refreshing. I know i’m not being lazy, because i need it for the season i am in.
Excited about the book!
.-= Lynse Leanne´s last blog ..Our Thing =-.
If you travel abroad, you definitely see that America has an unusual obsession with time. Being “on time” just has a different meaning in most areas of the world (especially Latin America and Africa). That being said, I think that I struggle more with “urgency” than hurry. I’m often late to things, because I’m ruled the tyranny of what is urgent, all the while neglecting what is truly important. Thanks for the post, Anne. Sounds like a great book.
.-= Jeff Goins´s last blog ..Struggling with Forward Motion =-.
This most definitely rings true for me. I have caught myself speeding up bed time for the kids just so I can have a few more minutes to get things done. I have added this to the reading list and appreciate you sharing this gem.
.-= Kevin Leggett´s last blog ..The Muratorian Fragment on the New Testament Canon =-.
Yes, it resonates. Too much, even, because I don’t know what my next step is in light of this and other similar messages from my body, spirit, and friends.
Maybe I need a copy of that book, too.
This so right on for my life. How to stop the crazy cycle? I would purchase this book, but I have 1500 other books I’m in the middle of. Thanks. I will follow the blog series and see where we end up.
I totally agree with this view, it’s why my family have deliberately slowed our lives down. When our daughter was born 2 years ago we decided that we needed to focus on what was important, our family.
It’s been good to slow down however now that we have I’ve found that I don’t have any friends!
I’ve come out of 12 years of ministry where I was always busy and have neglected to build relationships that function outside of common “busy” goals.
I cant believe I’m where I am right now I seriously have no one I would call a friend I would hang out with and talk about anything deeper than trivial topics how did this happen!!
Busy is an idol and it robs us if intimate relationships, I don’t know where to begin now building these back up…
.-= Andrew Edwards´s last blog ..Crisis, stress, lessons learnt =-.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for providing such a thoughtful arena for the ideas in In Praise of Slowness. This feels like the beginning of an urgent and beautiful conversation.
I’d like to inject a note of optimism. In this roadrunner world, it can sometimes feel like there is no option but to follow the hurrying herd. But there is.
Everywhere you look nowadays, more and more people are waking up to the folly of living in fast-forward and discovering that by slowing down judiciously they do everything better and enjoy everything more; they live happier, healthier and richer lives; they are grow more connected to themselves and to others.
When I first began researching In Praise of Slowness, the search term “slow movement” turned up nothing on Google. There was Slow Food and Citta Slow but that was about it. Today you get a half million entries on Google under “slow movement” in English.
I know these are big words, but I think we are on the cusp of a cultural revolution. Slow is not some shallow fashion trend, here today, gone tomorrow. We are lurching towards an historical turning point, a moment when the tectonic plates are beginning to shift below the surface.
For at least 150 years everything has been getting faster – and for the most part speed was probably doing us more good than harm in that time. But in recent years we’ve entered the phase of diminishing returns – today speed is doing us more harm than good. This turbo-charged culture is taking a toll on our health, diet and work, our communities, relationships and the environment.
The case for slowing down is so powerful today that it’s no longer just yoga teachers, aromatherapists and church ministers making it; it’s business too. The corporate world is starting to realize that too much speed and hurry hurts the bottom line; it erodes productivity, hampers creativity and leads to more mistakes. And look what happened recently to the global financial system. Things got so rushed in the markets that no one had the time or the incentive to lift up the hood and ask if the engine was overheating, to pull apart those collaterized debt obligations and credit default swaps to work out whether they were worth the paper they were written on. The whole system was based on fast growth, fast consumption and fast profits – and look how it nearly tipped us into a total economic meltdown.
There is still a very long way to go to win over the corporate world to the virtues of slowness, but there are encouraging signs. A senior manager at IBM has even launched a “slow email” movement, urging people to unplug and make the most of email (and life) by using email less. And that’s IBM, not a meditation school. The need for slowness is being discussed everywhere from the boardroom to the bedroom.
Let me finish by reiterating what Anne said in her post: the Slow philosophy is NOT about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and sometimes not doing anything at all. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. Building deep and meaningful connections with people, the spirit, culture and the land. It’s about quality over quantity.
Perhaps Mae West put it best when she said: “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”
Lookiong forward to seeing where this conversation leads us….
I have to crack up a little that I saw this post come across my email as I was stopping by my house to check in. And I passed over it thinking, “I don’t have time to read that right now.” So when I saw Carl Honoré’s post here, I giggled a little, then read it. Been slowing a little here and there–especially technologically. At times its inconvenient but I’m enjoying the things I used to pass by or gloss over.
.-= Joni Ruhs´s last blog ..“Let me explain…” =-.
I bought this book .. and didn’t get around to reading it for several months .. because … yes .. I was too busy ! IT CHANGED MY LIFE ..!!! .. I couldn’t say that about may other books I have read but I can about ‘In Praise of Slowness’ .. This book should be required reading in school .. our country would be happier.. healthier .. more contented .. and yes .. even more productive!