Mad Gringo bumped into Carl Honore a few months ago when Tim from the badbanana blog posted a short TED video of Mr. Honore giving a 15 minute presentation on "going slow".
I loved it.
I sent a note to him and received a copy of his book, "In Praise of Slowness" (the rest of the world knows it as "In Praise of Slow"). I finally made time to pour though it and thought I'd pass my thoughts on to you.
When I started Mad Gringo, there was a disconnect that I had been struggling with for years. The constant push to take more and more from this life tempered against the desire to spend time with the things that "truly matter" like friends and family. Carl finds himself in a similar place as he fights to "be there" with his son reading a bedtime story while deadlines and to-do lists pile up in the hall.
After his own mini "day of reckoning" Carl is made to wonder how he got to that point. With that he begins a journey into the slow movement. Slow food, slow transportation, slow reading. slow music, slow sex, slow exercise . . . it seems there are a lot of us that are struggling with the same issues. Worldwide.
The stories are entertaining and thought provoking. From the slow food movement which is easy to comprehend to the slow exercise movement which is harder to imagine, I found myself drifting into thoughts of what life would be like if I could apply these slow techniques each day.
Near the end of the book, Honore takes us back to where he started. When he was working what should have been his "dream job" but wasn't happy. Once the company re-organized and he was able to return to his free-lance work, he figured out what the problem was.
His "dream job" didn't allow him to controll his own time.
It's no secret that when you feel like the time is not yours, you are unsettled. This revelation hit me like a ton of bricks because that was where I was coming from. My corporate gig that valued the hours worked versus the value brought to those hours. The accolades for time spent on the road and numbers of meetings attended versus results achieved. When you "have to" be there it's hard to "be there". Does that make sense?
In the end, Honore brought home the whole point of what I'm trying to do with my short time on this big rock. I want to "be there" wherever I am. Not thinking about work when I'm with my family. Not thinking about family when I'm at work. Being in the flow of things. Being present.
I loved the book. His research validated aspects of my life that I'm just getting in touch with and showed my how far I need to go to get to my goal of "going slow".
It reminded me that living a fulfilling life is a process. Not an event.
He also reminded me to turn off the TV. (hey, no one said life was easy)
Pick up the book. Plow through a chapter or two and consider whether it has any application to your own life. Great read.
Go slow.
Immigration
and border patrol seems to be at the top of every political
conversation. At Parque Eco Alberto, you can go on a pretend ‘Night
Border Crossing Experience.’ The parque is owned by the Hnahnu Indians
in Hidalgo, about three hours from Mexico City. The $18, four-hour
night hike starts with the Mexico National Anthem. Your ‘coyote’ guide,
Poncho, pulls off his black ski mask while actors gather around to
scare you senseless along the way. Run from border control agents; dodge hidden actors shooting (blanks) at
you, and make your way through barbed-wire fences. Survivors are
blindfolded, led across a rickety bridge, and then set free to run across the border to freedom!
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