I promised myself when I started writing the Slow Lane (in 2005) that I would write at least one piece about slowing down each year. This is that piece for this year.
After my stroke, and its long aftermath, I learned about how much of life I missed, because I was speeding through everything. Being slowed by my ailments, and disabilities, showed me things that I had not experienced before. I didn’t know it, but this perception marked the beginning of my re-perceiving, and becoming more aware of the miracle of life. Slowing down, a natural result of my stroke, enabled me, by catalyzing a new consciousness. It could do the same for you.
I never knew impermanence as thoroughly as I did, until it became evident, that I could easily, and quickly, pass from the scene. Suddenly, the many beauties I took for granted, became precious. Other wonders caught my attention. And, then I grasped, how quickly everything (including me) was passing, and that I was missing most of it, because I was speeding through life. My concerns about making money, fulfilling my dreams, and meeting other’s expectations, all distracted me, and kept me from grasping the fundamental beautiful vulnerability of life.
I slowed down because I was forced too. The gift of slowness came to me unbidden. It took a while for me to receive it. I was so identified with the value of being able to keep up, doing things efficiently, and continuously showing my stuff, that I felt handicapped by this newly imposed slowness. Disability chafed on me.
Then, I realized that slowing was allowing a completely new awareness. I was mesmerized by what I could sense. The empty aching that seemed to define my (speedy) life, became apparent to me, and a new happier, slower existence showed through. Since then, I have come to see how the pace of life, determines so much of what one perceives, and what one is capable of.
I’m a lot older now. Aging brings its own slowness. Some people perceive it as a curse, and are embarrassed by it. Others feel defective. Not being able to keep up in the rat race, is a sure sign, for some, of obsolescence. But, the truth is, that Life has finally prevailed, and that its miracles, and enchantment, are now more available than ever. Slowing alters awareness. It makes
the subtle more perceptible, and the world more complex and beautiful.
The aging are in for a treat, an advantage that wasn’t much available during[DG1] the machine-speed world of acquisition. Now, simpler beauties manifest. And, altered perceptions of self, and of what is important, show up. The curse of slowness becomes one of the gifts of aging.
The funny thing is, that it (slowing) is available to everyone right now. The pace of life is up to each one of us — no matter what age we are. Slowing is one of the hallmarks of a very rare form of maturity. It is the result of an acute perception about how violent speed is. You’ve probably heard the saying, “speed kills,” but probably you haven’t realized that speed kills perception, depth, and connection. Humanity suffers— our’s, and everyone’s — when any of us go too fast!
Speeding through life is part of the violence of our times. It is a sure sign that one has been captured by the de-humanizing elements of modern life. The most effective protest of injustice is slowing down. There are more than roses waiting to be smelled.
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