The Slow Revolution is Growing... Fast

Being Arianna's first pick is a tremendous honor and a huge thrill. It also serves up a delicious irony.

My book is called In Praise of Slowness. Yet the Huffington Post is a fleet-footed pioneer on the fastest communication platform ever devised. Not exactly a natural fit, are they?

Yes, actually they are. And that's because the book's message is more nuanced than the title suggests.

The spark for In Praise of Slowness came when I began reading to my children. Every parent knows that kids like their bedtime stories read at a gentle, meandering pace. But I used to be too fast to slow down with the Brothers Grimm.

I would zoom through the classic fairy tales, skipping lines, paragraphs, whole pages. My version of Snow White had just three dwarves in it. "What happened to Grumpy?" my four-year-old son would ask.

Then one day I caught myself eyeing a collection of One-Minute Bedtime Stories -- think Snow White boiled down to 60 seconds -- and that's when the alarm bells started ringing.

I never bought the one-minute fables. Instead, I set off to investigate whether slowing down was still an option in the modern world. As a journalist, my first soapbox was a series of newspaper articles. But that felt too scrawny, too disposable, too fast for a piece of writing designed to upset the cultural apple cart.

So I turned to a platform that is by its very nature slow: I wrote a book.

In Praise of Slowness chronicles the global trend towards deceleration that has come to be known as the Slow Movement. Don't worry, though: it is not a Luddite rant. I love speed. Going fast can be fun, liberating and productive. The problem is that our hunger for speed, for cramming more and more into less and less time, has gone too far.

These days, we work fast, talk fast, think fast, eat fast, play fast. We even make love in a hurry. A British magazine recently featured the following headline: "Bring Her To Orgasm In 30 Seconds!"

Yet there is a price to pay for living in fast-forward. Our health, diet and relationships suffer. We make mistakes at work. We struggle to relax, to enjoy the moment, even to get a decent night's sleep.

The current recession is a stark reminder that an economy based on fast growth, fast consumption, and fast profits is not sustainable. On the contrary, it is the surest way to burn out the planet and everyone on it. We are now in one of those rare moments in history when everything is up for discussion, when business as usual is no longer an option, when a genuinely fresh start is within reach. You can almost feel the tectonic plates starting to shift.
Exactly one hundred years ago, a restless band of European intellectuals published the Futurist Manifesto, which affirmed "that the world's magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing automobile with its hood adorned with great tubes like serpents with explosive breath...a roaring motor car which seems to run on machine-gun fire, is more beautiful than the Winged Victory of Samothrace."

Today, with oil running out and the global economy in tatters, that sounds so 20th century. Doing everything in a hurry is clearly nuts. Anyone still in doubt should try attending a speed yoga class or a drive-thru funeral.

That is why the Slow Movement is growing - and fast.

Around the world, 120 official Slow Cities are now putting quality of life ahead of sprawl. Slow Food is a household name and the Slow Sex movement could be next. Slow Travel is booming as people look for ways to savor the journey. A Harvard dean has written an open letter extolling the virtues of doing less and relaxing more. Its title: "Slow Down."

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are now movements for Slow Medicine, Exercise, Parenting, Retail, Design, Education, Blogging, Production, Fashion, Art and Reading.

Even the workplace is warming to the Slow revolution. Companies such as the Boston Consulting Group and KPMG are goosing productivity by encouraging staff to spend less time on the job. Others are imposing speed limits on the information superhighway with email-free days and cellphone blackouts. A senior executive at IBM has launched a Slow Email Movement to encourage us to check our inboxes less. And that's IBM, not an aromatherapy cooperative.

It is no surprise that some of the fastest people are now urging us to put on the brakes. After all, Slow does not mean doing everything at a snail's pace. It means doing things at the right speed -- fast or slow. In other words, you don't have to ditch your career, toss the iPhone and join a commune to slow down. You can be Slow anywhere. Even on the Huffington Post. It's about striking a balance and using time more wisely.

The journey that In Praise of Slowness has made since publication shows how far this message resonates. The book has been translated into more than 30 languages. It appears on reading lists from business schools to yoga retreats. Rabbis, priests and imams have quoted from it in their sermons. A doctor in Sydney, Australia gave my aunt a copy when she was suffering from stress. TV producers even placed a few copies inside the Big Brother house in Argentina to encourage the contestants to talk about more than just cellulite and cosmetic surgery.

Writing the book has certainly changed my life. I travel around the world now talking and writing about the Slow revolution. But I also walk the talk. I have reconnected with my inner tortoise.

This has made me more relaxed, dynamic and creative. I feel closer to my friends and family and more able to enjoy each moment. I'm living my life now instead of rushing through it.

Snow White is certainly a lot more fun with seven dwarves.

 

Follow Carl Honore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/carlhonore

Comments

[FoxIslander]

"Slow" sounds almost un-american. Enduring the current economic and political situation has a lot of people rethinking the "american dream"...I know iIam.

[Weirdo]

Isn't speed mainly for workers? Time is money; not yours, of course, but for the people who hold the purse strings. The more you do for your hour's salary, the more the guy at the top makes in return on his investment. The imposed values of the work place govern our lives so much more than we realize. We've learned to incorporate them into our own time, as if racing through your Saturday makes your life better or fuller in some way.

I think Honore is right about there being a tectonic shift taking place in people's outlook, and the bad economy is accelerating it. It's making people wonder what the hell all this speeding around is for, when they, by and large, aren't getting any return on their own speed investment.

[LisaFeythe]

I participated in a tele-book club in 2005 shortly after Carl's book was published. My life has honestly never been the same since. He dialed in to speak with us and answer questions on our second meeting. This was one of those books that Arianna described where you end up buying multiple copies to give friends because it feels like everyone you know should read it. This book changed my life. I've slowed down deliberately, and continue to feel the pull of speed, so this shift requires conscious effort. The rewards and shifts in perception are priceless. Highly recommend the book and the adopting of a slow lifestyle. For me this meant simplification of work and needs, downsizing possessions, and accomplishing tasks more slowly. Waverly Fitzgerald also has an excellent e-book on slow time on her web site, Living in Season. So many gifts await the person who is willing to learn how to slow down (if you are living in a crazy, speed-loving culture).

[Jen Grisanti - Huffpost Blogger]

CONGRATS on being selected as Arianna's first book! I am very EXCITED to read your book. It sounds like my cup of tea. I also have a newsletter where I recommend the top books. So, I have a feeling yours will be on mine as well. I am excited to read it and give feedback. Thank you for sharing your gift. Warmly, Jen

[caseycasey]

I will read this book, but I promise not rush out to the bookstore!
What is the effect of our fast paced lives on our children? For all the 50 somethings... how different are your children's lives from your own childhoods? They're over scheduled, over stimulated, over indulged and I wonder what the longterm effect will be. Our high school recently adopted a schedule that compresses what had traditionally been a full year course into one semester. One of the selling points was that it allowed motivated students to move quickly through the progression of classes in a particular subject, allowing one to complete all classes before graduation. Rush through Algebra I so you can take Algebra II. Now rush through so you can take Pre-Calculus, but hurry so you can take Calculus, and so on. There is no learning for it's own sake, it's all just to be able to advance to the next level.

No longer is it enough to take college prep course or even honors courses. Now to be competitive, (and since when did education become so competitive?), one must take AP college level courses. I'm all for challenging oneself, but to what end and at what cost? Will we have a generation of stressed out kids who see life as a competition rather than a cooperative effort?
The best advice we got from a college admissions officer.. slow down, take your high school classes in high school and your college classes in college!

[Weirdo]

"There is no learning for it's own sake, it's all just to be able to advance to the next level."

Indeed. Plus there's the imposition of work place values on our own lives. It seems like everyone in our culture has accepted the notion that if the value of a thing can't be quantified in dollars, it isn't worth anything at all, or is at least an idle pursuit.

[caseycasey]

I really look forward to reading this book, but I suppose I should not rush to the bookstore! I have long been nagged by the notion that the fast pace of our lives is damaging, especially to our children. For all the other 50 somethings out there, think about how different our children's lives are from our own childhoods. They are over scheduled, over stimulated, over indulged and I wonder what long term effect this will have. But presently as the parent of a high school student playing the college admission game, I am dismayed by the changes I see in our education system. Two years ago our high school switched to a class schedule

When did education become such a competitive sport?

[caseycasey]

Sorry, this was sent incomplete!

[Jaywalkker]

That's what I loved about Paris. Tired of walking? Stop at any of the ubiquitous cafes and have a coffee while watching others walk by. All the markets and street vendors are set up to make you stroll while you browse.

[FoxIslander]

...this is why we call the french UNproductive. 35 hour work week, time for family time to enjoy good food and wine, 6 weeks of vacation. I wish I was french.

[powerofslow]

Congratulations, Carl! Your book certainly has helped raise the Slow Movement to the broader stage. I am delighted to know Arianna has chosen your book as the first!

Another part of the Slow conversation is not just about speed, as I think our desire for it is closely linked to our relationship with time itself. We think we don't have enough of it. Therefore, we haste. I offer up the suggestion that we disengage from clock combat to embrace a deeper connection with our own personal bank account of time. As you put it, getting in touch with the inner tortoise reminds us what's truly important.

Kudos to you!

~Christine Louise Hohlbaum,
author of "The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World"

[dadw5boys]

Consumerism = turning raw materials into Garbage as fast as possible for the most profit .

Anti-Consumerism = Repair, restore, recycle, resue, or Freecycle consumer products to keep them out of landfills.

Save your money and save Natural Resources.

[spikeykitten]

Slow cooking is the best.

11 lbs of pork shoulder
brined, rubbed, then cooked on an offset smoker at (175 degrees) for 14 hrs

end up going through a lot of hickory but it is all worth it for the best pulled pork ever.

[Mary Ellen Chatwin]

I wonder what Carl Honore thinks of the upcoming November Novel Writing month--a novel in a month...How long did it take him to travel the world and write about going slow?

[ShineTheLight]

Hey, I've got one facet of the Slow Revolution covered -- Slow Weight Loss!

[fohnnora]

Actually slow weight loss is the best way to lose weight from a physiological perspective. It does not harm the body the way drastic and rapid weight loss regimens do, and weight that comes off more slowly is more likely to stay off!

[themodernleader]

People who have been locked in an embrace of dictatorship for centuries and are suddenly afforded opportuny, heretofore only dreamed about will suddenly turn inot dynamos of growth and productivity. They are in a hurry to regain domination over their own environment. They are the movers and shakers of mankind.
On the other hand, people who have been spoiled by affluence and leisure and are steadilly losing control of their present and future yearn for the world of security and final solutions. They return to the slowness of their ancient ancestors. They have lost thier dreams, goals and motivation. They drive slowly down the road,having now where to go, blocking the road for the new transformers and shakers of mankind..

[mommadona]

A thought:

Male = linear
Culture = male oriented

Sometimes walking around in a circle gives you a view of the whole.

#justsayin'

[yappnmutt]

oh the irony of being accused of being a drop out for so many years that i am now trendy. now that i am no longer an iconoclast i'll have to start working on the new trend. old habits die hard so it may take a while. i'll let you all know what it is when it comes to me.