The Day of Slow
Today is the International Day of Slowness.
Switch off your Blackberry. Turn off the TV. Go for a walk. Share a long, leisurely meal with friends or family. Read a story to your children. Take a nap in the middle of the day. Do some yoga. Spend the afternoon with a friend that you normally just speak to on Facebook. Channel the Pointer Sisters by bringing a slow hand to your lovemaking.
Wander round a forest or park. Smell the roses.
Or just sit still and do nothing for a few minutes. When was the last time you did that? And didn’t feel restless or guilty?
Do whatever slides you into a slower gear.
Just don’t try to squeeze all the suggestions on the list into a single day. That would turn slowing down into another exercise in rushing to cram everything in. Remember that less is more.
The bottom line is that this is a day to set your inner tortoise free. Don’t fret and overanalyze. Just do it!
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Thanks for the reminder. I was about to cancel my plans to go to yoga class tonight to work late, but I changed my mind after reading this post!
Comment by Susanna
— June 21, 2010 @ 2:15 pm
Ironically, my bike broke this day on the tour. I was STUCK in a low gear. which technically made me pedal faster, but kept my pace slower.
Comment by Anne Jackson
— June 24, 2010 @ 11:57 am
Anne, trying to work out if that is good slow or bad slow. Or a bit of both, maybe?
Comment by Carl Honoré 95.177.121.34 not found — June 25, 2010 @ 2:54 am
Hi Carl,
That is a great reminder and neat that it was timed on the shortest day!
I only just read your article (sloooow rss, ha!)
In any case my ‘inner tortoise’ seemed to take matters into its own hands for the first 3 days of the week. At the time I felt ‘grumpy’, ‘low in energy’ and ‘ill with earache’.
Now I can see that it was all for good reason…
3 Great Lazy Days of NOTHING!
If only I could do it without the guilt
Thanks Carl for helping me to get perspective.
Comment by Dunstan Bertschinger
— June 25, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
Hi -
After a hectic month of summer break with the kids, I took them to the public library. My brain was spinning and I was thinking to myself, “How am I ever going to get through the next two months?!”
By some cosmic destiny, your book’s binding popped out at me.
So, on a whim, I checked out your book, along with ten zillion Magic Treehouses, 4 Junie B Jones and a Harry Potter audio tape.
And home we went. To the big green couch. Where I read you. And my kids read their books. And we smelled each others’ stinky feet and heard each other breathe and for a moment… just one… I felt PEACE.
I can’t wait to finish the book now. THANK YOU for validating a core value I have but sometimes, in the midst of mothering and general insanity, forget.
Andrea
Comment by andrea frazer
— July 11, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
Delighted that the book landed in your hands at just the right moment. I love those moments of peace, even with the stinky feet. Stick to that core value of yours for the rest of the summer - it doesn’t have to be a rat race…
Comment by Carl Honoré
— July 12, 2010 @ 7:44 am