I love how Chapter 1 in In Praise of Slowness begins.
“What’s the very first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?”
The answer: We look at the clock.
For me, it just so happens that my clock is also my alarm is also my phone is also my email checker is also my Twitter checker is also my blog checker and my Google Reader and…
Before I even get out of bed, I’m caught up on what’s happened in my little world in the last six to eight hours.
That’s right.
MY little world.
One could argue I am simply checking in on connections and relationships.
But honestly, I’m just trying to find my first fix of affirmation for the day.
(FIRST fix. AHEM. More on that in a moment.)
In some philosophies, we learn from Honoré that time is considered cyclical. It’s renewing. Coming…going…it’s about seasons. Before there were things like clocks or time was measured as intricately as it is today, people ate when they were hungry and slept when they were tired.
In most of our developed countries, time is considered linear. There is a Point A (now) and a Point B (end) and we want to accomplish as much as possible between the two. We take chunks of activities (eating, sleeping, TV, work, community, sex, reading, shopping, consuming, etc.) and try and fit as many chunks as we can into these pre-determined amount of time.
So we feel rushed. We feel there’s never enough time to do everything.
(Hey, that’s because there *isn’t* enough time to do everything).
With improvements in technology over past centuries, we’ve been able to save time. It is going to take me two months to cycle across the country this summer. In a plane, I could knock that out in six hours.
If we let technology run the show, we don’t save time — we just end up with a different set of things to do. The amount of work hardly changes, if it changes at all.
This chapter, titled Do Everything Faster, ends with a very poignant quote from Mark Kingwell, a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto.
“Despite what people think, the discussion about speed is never really about the current state of technology. It goes much deeper than that, it goes back to the human desire for transcendence.”
And that takes me back to my early morning affirmation/phone/clock check.
I know one day I’m going to die.
I’d like to hope that what I’m doing is making a difference.
Even though I’m not on this earth to make people happy, my morning “routine” is an (inaccurate) way I measure my value.
Sometimes things need to be done fast. When I was on a bike ride with a friend last week, a severe thunderstorm was approaching us. We needed to stop smelling the honeysuckle on the Natchez Trace and find shelter. When we need to travel quickly to reach family members in a crisis, we can. Some cancers can’t be treated slowly. You get my point.
However, instead of viewing time as a line with a start and a finish, I’m going to try and see my life and purpose in seasons. Some fast. Some slow. Some stressed. Some refreshing. Some aggressive. Some passive. Some giving. Some receiving.
By intentionally doing this, there is no Point A in my linear time line of life and purpose that begins each morning.
Instead, every morning is a step into a season.
…A season lived in truth to whatever I happen to be doing at the time.
…A season to be embraced and experienced fully.
Not rushed. Not hurried. And not afraid of the end.
(Because there is no end…just a season for leaving this physical life behind…)
Comments
28 responses to “A Season for Everything, Just Do It Faster…”
In short, it’s what the Bible calls going “from glory to glory”. It’s as simple as that, even death, but we complicate it up with our brilliant logic and philosophies and “missional post-modern relevance” (sorry, just finished reading Stuff Christians Like, but it fit).
.-= @CynHendrix´s last blog ..My Man =-.
Great thoughts here! I need take some time to let them soak in …
.-= Kevin M.´s last blog ..23 ways to know it’s going to be a really bad day =-.
I love the challenge to view life as seasons, and not as “things to check off the to-do list.” We have just moved overseas to Thailand, and life is much much slower here. It takes three days to accomplish a task that in the States would take 30 minutes, and it has been frustrating. BUT, it is teaching us to lower our expectations, to slow down, to enjoy the journey, to cultivate the relationships more than the tasks.
.-= Laura@Life Overseas´s last blog ..Chan =-.
I think that social media is really not just about keeping relationships, it’s really about getting a daily fix, like you said. The way I see it, we have to be very careful to get our daily fix from the right source when we wake up in the morning, and that source is God (#NotetoSelf).
I liked this: “However, instead of viewing time as a line with a start and a finish, I’m going to try and see my life and purpose in seasons. Some fast. Some slow. Some stressed. Some refreshing. Some aggressive. Some passive. Some giving. Some receiving.”
.-= Jaycee (E.A)´s last blog ..In the Market Places of Your World They are Waiting For You =-.
Thanks for the post…good thoughts/words.
.-= Jamie´s last blog ..Grace =-.
Back in the Sixties, everyone said “You better slow that Mustang down!” Your blog yesterday and today is the best you have ever written. I am energized by if there is just one soul that cares. You are that soul!!! You wouldn’t believe the people I am around every day that are so self absorbed. I just want to tell you how I appreciate you caring. You are just so perfectly right what you are saying!!! I am praying for you & Chris to be soooo blessed!!!!
.-= Carol´s last blog ..I Truly Love This!!!! =-.
Love your thoughts about seasons.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..Random Question for Friday =-.
Anne,
This series reminded me of a saying:
“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get”
Anyone ever heard of that one?
.-= Dave Wilson´s last blog ..A legend that lasts a lunch time =-.
Yep.
I need to hear this today. In fact, I read it earlier and was going to comment, but it would have been a hurried comment, so I thought better of it!
My girls are hurried…by me. There’s always something I need to get done before we can move onto something else. By the time I’m ready to move on we’re in a hurry. I’m sure it’s not fun for them, and we always end up in some sort of conflict. They’re 8 and 5.
I’ve got time to change this in myself, and, hopefully teach them a better, slower, way to live.
.-= AprilK´s last blog ..Outgrowing affirmation? =-.
growing up in the islands…we had a very laid back lifestyle. it’s good sometimes….but island people are known to be great procrastinator.
here in LA…it’s much, much different though. it’s like a rat race here. everyone is always moving, moving, moving. and the traffic is just horrendous. Eeeeeek!
im glad i’m able to incorporate the best of both worlds… though i do get sucked into the “busy” schedule (i seem to have taken on the “stressed out LA characteristic”… when i hear the Holy Spirit alarm in me that my schedule is too crazy & im taking in more burdens than i should… i am quick to drop everything and just chill.
my favorite place to chill: the beach =]
camping on the beach!! sounds awesome! Sign me up!
.-= Tracee´s last blog ..What’s your go to? =-.
Loving these posts, Anne…
.-= Josh´s last blog ..The Autumn Film [giveaway] =-.
Biking for long periods of time is all about slow and paying attention. It’s mindless but beautiful.
A couple of summers ago, I spent time with four of my great friends who biked across the country. I spent a week as their sag wagon driving 2 MPH on the side of the road. It was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had. It was slow, full of new adventure, conversations by campfires and tents, and who knew what else. It was awesome.
Can’t wait to hear about your adventures!
.-= Tracee´s last blog ..What’s your go to? =-.
I wish I was more aware of what season I was in….I’d experience a lot more freedom and give myself a lot more permission. I think this is where community, the people who can look in on our lives and speak truth, helps a lot. I notice when that’s lacking my awareness and “rhythms” get out of whack (and especially when I’m not letting the Lord fill me)
Hi Anne,
As I read this today I realize that even though I’m thousands of miles away, that I’m still in a hurry for things when I get home. I’m checking my email as many times a day as I can, I’m seeking validation by how many people read my blog, or message me on FB. I’m in a hurry to be home from Iraq, when God called me here for this season, and I’m so prone to waste what little time there is to make a difference in the lives around me by hurrying through it. Thank you for sharing these thoughts today, and thank you to Carl as well for joining the discussion.
-Jonathan Wells
.-= Jonathan Wells´s last blog ..Bullets In My Pocket =-.
Testify – it took me 3 times of clicking on your site to read this entire post all the way through. No joke. I guess I need to slow down huh? Yes the season approach can be revelatory, it was for me. However right now I am near the end of a very long 3 year season that I so desperately want to end and it can’t come fast enough. Even after decades of walking with the LORD, I learned in this present season a new side of Him. And, a new layer of me. I just want to give Him glory for it all.
I just read this on my phone, which woke me up an hour ago and reminded me of my To Do list, and on which I have since been reading Proverbs and CNN (which, by the way, is a trip of a combination) in my PJs.
I get it. :)
I’m going to digest the entire thought here….S L O W L Y.
Profound.
.-= Sherri´s last blog ..Calling ALL THE WRINKLED LADIES! =-.
Anne, this series speaks to me. The “cult of speed” is something I’ve been dealing with in my life recently. Thanks for spending some time on this. I’ve downloaded Horne’s book for Kindle – can’t wait to read it!
The thing with seasons as most people think of them is that they have a fixed start date & a fixed end date. Being raised on a farm, seasons often meant being rushed as well. You had to get stuff planted before the hot season came. You had to harvest before the cold season arrived. You had to compensate for the rainy season, the dry season, the snowy season, the whatever other season you could think of. There was also the buying season & the selling season, if the farm was your source of income.
We’re impatient. We want our fixes now! Oh, Joe didn’t post on his blog today? Forget him, then! He’s not a responsible blogger, and I don’t have time to bother with him. (I remember a blog post on why someone followed blog A but not blog B. Remember it, Anne? :) ) Our performance-based culture wants to demand 1000% of our time, energy, and anything else they can bleed from us. It’s a physical, spiritual, and emotional vampire. Saying “no” brings “risks.”
But how bad is the risk?
Just wait for Monday’s post. :)
Statistics show people are less interested in slowing down than missions (if you go on traffic and comments)… :)
I am getting more risky. It is scary. But…it is right.
I like you, Joe. :)
Gawrsh! :)
Or do you just like my non-depressed I’m-in-a-better-mood-today I’m-hearing-the-Spirit posts? (I guess I’ll find out when I see if you included my two submissions in PtSF. :) )
Even well-intended missions trips can fall into the same trap. “We’re only here for a week, and we planned to build this, play there, speak here, unload food all over … oh, and mention Jesus, too.”
Due to health, I’ve never been on a missions trip. I’ve heard tons of things from tons of friends who have been on them. Do you know one incident that probably impressed me the most? It was the time on your trip to Haiti, when you tweeted your location and asked everybody else to RT so an area could get help. That was risky, because crime was at a high there. (I have a friend who is a pastor there; he had to go into “stealth mode” for quite some time because of that.) What an awesome way to minister, because you took the time to help out in an unusual, but effective, way.
.-= Joe Sewell´s last blog ..Quick News Update =-.
joe–loved your insight from farming. god has required me several times to go on sabbatical and the free time felt really uncomfortable at times. honestly, that’s probably why we go go go to avoid that inner place. and yet there is something to be said for those busier/action times. rhythms, rhythms
Sabbaticals, vacations, or any sort of “down time” is something I’m still trying to balance in my life because of that self-sufficient lifestyle. My farmer father wasn’t just a “workaholic.” He was obsessed with work. To him being “lazy” (meaning there was something that “had to be done” and you weren’t doing it … never mind you’re recovering from major surgery, have a broken ankle or separated kneecap … and, no, I’m not making any of that up!) was worse than going to Hell. I have to balance the need for work with my revulsion towards his attitude.
Western society glorifies stress. Thrill rides are more popular than the slower, contemplative ones (just look at the selection at Walt Disney World … well, if you live close enough to it, like I do). Competition at work and at home makes too many people feel “alive.” Hard rock with a beat you have to “feel” blow-by-blow from the subwoofer is mandatory. The restful vacation is unheard of these days, replaced by the expectation to “go, go, go!” and “do, do, do!” all sorts of “fun” activities that, if we were really honest with ourselves, causes more stress than they’re worth. We’re a society of adrenaline junkies, and those of us who can no longer take it (those of us with PTSD, panic/anxiety disorder, and the like) feel left out.
Cool. As the engineer in a farming community, I should feel right at home. :)
.-= Joe Sewell´s last blog ..Quick News Update =-.
Anne-Thanks for this. I love it. It inspires me.
.-= Jenna B.´s last blog ..30 THINGS IN 30 DAYS – DAY 11 =-.
I am really drawn to the idea of slowing down. I keep trying to do just that. Take on less projects, spend more quiet time, etc, and yet it seems that there is some sort of plot against that ever actually taking root. I often think that all of the technology that has come along to help us save time has in reality just made us busier.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..May is for Love…bugs =-.
Hey Anne, I’m excited that my book came in. Phil and I are starting our own little book club and reading it together. He works out of town alot of weeks, so I read on the weekends, he reads during the week, and we discuss it when he gets home.
And hopefully we’ll figure out ways to make this come alive in our life together. Thanks!
.-= Jan Owen´s last blog ..When Crisis Comes =-.