Stop and Smell the Flowers: High Velocity Culture and the Future of Slowness

Intro 

Life was designed to be enjoyed and cherished. Today’s society, however, enjoys very little of what the universe has endowed us with. Instead of cherishing what we have, we are in a constant quest for more. This is clearly evident in the fast pace that many people live their lives nowadays. There is so much beauty around for us to stop and enjoy but few ever do so. There are so many flowers for us to stop and smell but few ever notice the flowers. It’s time to slow down. 

Backdrop

Last month, France’s famous high-speed train, the TGV, showcased it’s high velocity in front of thousands of it’s own citizens and millions of TV watchers worldwide. Clocking up to 357 mph, the train created sparks on the rails as it blew dust on onlookers and astounded a captive global audience. Train driver Eric Pieczac said later on, “I’m delighted. It’s a mixed feeling of honor and pride to have been able to reach this speed.” His delight is understandable. We have come a long way from the 16th Century wagons that were drawn by single horses on wooden rails. We now have double-decker, powerful engines totalling up to 25,000 horse-power speeding across huge countries in short time! That’s major progress compared to the wagonways, tramways and steam engines that shaped the early days of locomotion. 

However, before we start celebrating the “savior-faire” of French achievement and start wearing T-shirts with the words ”French Excellence” printed on the back, I want us to consider the implications of this. Society today is consumed with the idea of speed. All we want is the next fastest thing. We want “instant” information, “high-speed” internet, “fast” food, “rapid” results, “immediate” action, “accelerated” education, “expedited” mail, “supersonic” jets, “swift” change, even “quick” sex. What happened to slowness? We need to Stop and Smell the Flowers. Our high velocity culture shuns the leisurely, sluggish and unhurried as it celebrates the fast (the furious) and the quick.

Melting Glaciers and the Future of Slow 

Along with the Maglev of Japan, the world’s fastest train, which doesn’t even run on tracks but floats over a guideway in a magnetic field without touching the tracks, the TGV is a landmark of man’s progress. In this quest for faster and better, is there any future for slowness? What price are we paying in our quest for speed? It is reflected all over our society - on college campuses where students are running from class to class then to workplaces, in the corporate world where everyone’s favorite book is Business @ The Speed of Thought and in homes where fast-paced living has become the norm. 

Slow should become the new fast. I was born and brought up in Africa where slow is the norm. No one has mastered the art of living slow like the people in my rural village on the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. Life is luxury for them. Their motto is “Hurry, hurry, has no blessing”. When I came to the United States in August 2001, I was astounded at the pace of life. I remember going to a grocery store during my first week when I was not yet familiar with the currency. I had a ton of coins and bills which I pulled out of my pocket and started counting slowly in front of the clerk. His look, and that of the customers behind me, could have melted a glacier! But the truth is that our fast-paced life is melting glaciers in real life. The industrial revolution, in it’s quest for better and faster, has hastened the melting of glaciers immensely (global warming is a real threat).

Embrace Your Inner Snail

Given all this, what is the future of mankind? We have a choice for high velocity or slowness. My position is that slow is cool. We all need to apply the brakes. Stress levels are rising because of the speed at which we drive our lives. Human contact has become fleeting, at best. We don’t connect any more because we are rushing for the next event. It’s time to embrace our “inner snail”. The inner snail’s motto is this: “slow and steady wins the race”. Let’s send more letters than emails, ride more bikes than drive cars, use the crock-pot rather than the microwave, visit friends and chat instead of sending text messages and make love with the person that we have chosen to take the time to slowly get to know instead of have rapid quickies.

After experiencing the fast pace of life in the US, I went back home (where the people have mastered the art of slow living) to visit in 2005. I had an opportunity to embrace my inner snail when I went to a local internet-cafe to check my email. It took me longer to open the internet and load the pages than it would have taken me to open a letter and read it. While this may be an indication of backwardness of Kenyan technology, for me it is a celebration of slowness. I had to learn the wisdom of taking a newspaper with me to the cyber-cafe and reading it as I waited for the pages to load. Oh the beauty of slow living! Slow should become the new fast. Here’s the attitude to embrace: slow is cool. Have a slow day! (and really enjoy the slowness!).