- Carl Honoré
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….
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Carl Honoré dropped by the blog last night and shared a few words with us. Thanks, Carl, for taking the time to engage into our little discussion!
I love that he reiterates a very positive, very doable point of view as most of us have expressed some sort of anxiety of “there’s-no-way-I-can-slow-down-my-life-is-a-mad-house!”
I know I have several steps we are taking to be intentional about slowing down, some we even began this week. But I live life spending a minimum of 100 days on the road. How do you not hurry or grab a bite to eat in-between flights or avoid the microwaved eggs at hotels when you’re traveling?
What I do think is interesting is both in the book and in his comment, he mentions that “slow” is often a pace set for church ministers. Since most people reading this blog are involved in some type of leadership role or staff position at a church, I can see how we are actually just now moving into the “fast” mode, and the statistics prove it. A higher percent of ministers are generally more overweight than the national average. Close to 2000 ministers leave their posts every month. The average length of stay at a church position is 18 months. More and more ministers are coping with escapism to deal with the stress. A large number (72-78% depending on where you get your stats from) don’t believe they have a close friend.
I personally ended up in the hospital almost five years ago because I had no idea how to manage my schedule or my stress. The cult of speed caught up with me in a significant way.
This is an epidemic within our stained-glass walls as well.
Those of us who have spent time inside the church or within religious circles know how damaging the pace has been increasing. He mentions how the Slow Movement has been gaining ground over recent years, so what if we helped lead this movement within our own circle of influence?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Comments
10 responses to “A Personal Note to You from Carl Honoré, The Author of “In Praise of Slowness””
I’m sure I’ll be accused of shameless self-promotion, but my book AND THEREBY HANGS A TALE [Harvest House] comes out next month. It is about the devoted life. My three dalmatians provide the metaphor that drives it. Animals, or better, creatures who live closer to their origins, closer to something genuine, have a lot to teach us. They raise a disturbing mirror at times.
Anyway, in a chapter called IF I LOVE YOU, WHO CARES WHAT TIME IT IS? it says, “Because she [the dog] pays no homage to time, the dog can draw from life its fullest measures, all its boundless liberality and generosity, things we deny ourselves. When she plays, she plays hard, completely. When she loves, she invests her entire being. In grief she holds back nothing. In her possession of the moment, the dog maintains a certain preparation for whatever happens, a readiness that renders time and its odd hypnosis mute.”
Another chapter—STICK YOUR HEAD OUT THE WINDOW IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME—relates pace with contentment. “I am not sure there is a better image of contentment than that of the dog with her head out the window of a car, and at any speed. Speed is never the issue with a dog anyway, unless it is chasing something, or running toward you. Contentment has no pace. And if my dogs were governed by anything, by anything that might have resembled an emotion or a state of mind, it was contentment.” I think the lesson for us is that this contentment is evidence of some deep agreement between the dog and life.
Fascinating topic. I only wish I could be as optimistic. I’m not sure we’re desperate enough just yet.
By the way, it was great to meet you at the Franklin tweetup.
A proverb from the bedouin nomads in the sahara dessert seems appropriate here: “S/he who is in a hurry is already dead.”
Anne, thanks to your recommendation, I picked up In Praise of Slowness last week and have been enjoying it ever since.
I, too, noted the irony in the author’s statements about the church. My husband and I spent nearly a year on staff at a crazy-busy church before deciding that wasn’t the life we wanted for ourselves and our future children.
Since that decision, we have noticed the benefits of living at a slower pace. We have much more time to spend with friends and family, to go out of town if we need a break, even to just sit on the couch and read a book in the evening.
Yes, ministry is tough. It takes a lot of time and energy. But we need to remember that our ministries are going to suffer if we don’t slow down from the current, unhealthy fast pace. In a position that desperately needs God’s leading, we need to slow down enough to actually hear it instead of allowing the “noise” of our busyness to drown His voice.
Aaaw, thank you for a note Carl and thank you Anne for bringing Carl to us = your readers from all over the world.
Yes, finding the right pace, which suit a person is essential for leading fulfilling and creative life.
Listening to own inner voice, which inspire us to act is unique for everyone. Not everyone is ready to sprint or to run a marathon, but we where taught to act like sprinting marathon runners;-)
Happy journey at your own pace, folks.
cheers from Slovakia,
i.
“Close to 2000 ministers leave their posts every month. The average length of stay at a church position is 18 months. More and more ministers are coping with escapism to deal with the stress. A large number (72-78% depending on where you get your stats from) don’t believe they have a close friend.”
Something has to change in the way we do church and leadership. Or perhaps how we prepare leaders for the ministry and cultivate them in the process.
I love the message Carl is sending and you are reiterating (“spreading the flowerdust”) I long to be a part of a community that calls this forth in each other. If we don’t slow down as a people and as a church we are never going to experience His Presence and therefore never really penetrate society.
A slower paced life is counter intuitive to American culture. The fact that those serving in ministry are just as, if not more, likely to fall victim to the trap of speed speaks to our misalignment with what the Lord values.
Our Father tells us to rest and to be still. He Himself, as an example to us, rested on the 7th day.
In we are to grasp and fully put into effect the concept of slowness we must pray for a heart that values what He values. We should keep in step with the Lord, so to speak.
Creating a culture of slowness must come from a priority to do so, whether that be in your home, workplace, or church. Slowing down requires just as much intentionality as speeding up. It requires practice and an understanding of God’s view on the issue.
I’m in ministry and considering leaving soon-burned out (due to many reasons, some unrelated to ministry). The pace of my team is not….ideal. Especially for how many people are on our team, even though our team has down sized our load has not.
Just had a conversation with my roommate who is in ministry also. She was in an evening seminary class one time and the professor asked how many people felt they prayed enough, at all. A class full of pastors and no one raised their hand. A pastor spoke up saying, “I don’t have time. I lay down at night and say, “God help me.” because I’m so tired.
Our thoughts…what would happen if we took 4-6 hours of our work week and devoted it to silence/listening and prayer (not just sitting still prayer, but prayer walks, prayer in groups, prayer alone, prayer hikes, etc.) I wonder what changes we would see in ourselves? our health? our ministry? our students/congregation?
I think the church can spearhead the move to slow down. And by ‘church” I mean both ministers and congregations. After all, every religion has slowness at its core.
The idea of a Sabbath, of setting aside time to rest, reflect and reconnect with the self, with others and with God, is common across all faiths. It’s spelled out in black in white in the Bible: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
The problem is that the church has been infected by the same virus of hurry that has accelerated the rest of our culture.
Last year, I gave a talk in the chambers beneath St. Peter’s church in Vienna, Austria. It was the first time the crypt had been used for a secular event in nearly a thousand years. With the dim lighting, ancient altarpieces and faint whiff of incense, and with the stone walls blocking out all mobile phone reception, it was the perfect setting for an evening devoted to Slow. My hosts were a group of high-flying businesspeople but the monsignor in charge of the church was there, too. I felt a bit uneasy seeing him in the front row, but in the end he laughed along at my more risqué jokes. Afterwards, he came up to me with a confession. “You know, as I was listening to you, I suddenly realized how easy it is to do things in the wrong way,” he said. “Lately I have been praying too fast.”
I live in England (my father-in-law is a retired vicar) and see the same problem in the church here: ministers forced to serve multiple parishes, dashing between congregations, grappling with red tape, spread so thinly that they struggle to minister properly and hover permanently on the edge of burnout. These days, we already have Speed Yoga and Drive-Thru Art Exhibitions. Maybe Speed Praying will be next.
There is a serious point here. How can someone stuck in roadrunner mode preach the wisdom of slowness? The answer is they can’t. It’s like Wall Street bankers singing the praises of salary restraint. Or Tiger Woods promoting monogamy. It doesn’t wash.
As Gandhi said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world.
The church is uniquely equipped to make the case for slowness. But it must put its own house in order first. It has to practice what it preaches…
.-= Carl Honoré´s last blog ..Switching off the phone =-.
Got my book! Already checking out that chapter on lovemaking! :) Sounds good to me!
.-= Jan Owen´s last blog ..What Are You in Love With? =-.
I thoroughly enjoyed both yesterday and today’s post. The additional comment by Carl Honore gives plenty of food for thought.
I’ve been in ministry for nearly 20 years. During the course of that time I felt totally driven. Some of that came from without and some of it from within. What a wake-up call it was for me to exhibit serious physical symptoms that landed me in the CCU. Yet even that did not stop me from the continually rushing. It was only a few months ago, when my brain settled into a deep fog, that I realized doing more was only complicating my problems. Doing MORE than God expects…to be specific.
Since that time I’ve read Myron Rush’s book “Burnout” and your book “Mad Church Disease”. It’s obvious to me that “In Praise of Slowness” is going to be crossing my Kindle soon. I’ve already downloaded a sample.
I believe the statistics regarding the church show how deep our denial runs. For a very long time we’ve lied to ourselves, others, and God about our physical, spiritual, and emotional conditions. When we’ve tried to be honest someone else picks up the whip and cracks it telling us to get back to work so we’ll feel better.
This vicious cycle can and must be broken. At this point I’m not sure what the answer is. I do like what Katy suggested. It will take something very deliberate.
Carl said something here that resonated with me “How can someone stuck in roadrunner mode preach the wisdom of slowness? The answer is they can’t. It’s like Wall Street bankers singing the praises of salary restraint. Or Tiger Woods promoting monogamy. It doesn’t wash.
As Gandhi said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world.
The church is uniquely equipped to make the case for slowness. But it must put its own house in order first. It has to practice what it preaches…”
I couldn’t agree more and believe this is true not only regarding slowness but everything else as well.
.-= Melinda Lancaster´s last blog ..Flashbacks =-.