In the members are of my website, I started a thread going about our pace of life and thought I’d add my (slightly edited) first entry on that thread for your reading today…
Katie told me on a couple of mornings this week, that I woke her up on a few occasions in the night because I was laughing in my sleep. I loved hearing that. She has said it to me a few times in the past fortnight…
“What has gone on in the last fortnight Adam,” I hear you ask… Let me tell you.
Remember that old Simon & Garfunkel tune-the “59th Street Bridge Song?” It starts off with “Slow down, you move too fast.” It kicks down the cobble stones, says hi to lampposts, and watches the flowers growing. And ends with “Life, I love you, All is groovy.”
I know of this song because of my parents record collection as a boy, not because I am of that era, I hasten to add!
When was the last time you were in love with life, moving slow enough to enjoy the flowers growing? Usually these days, my life time is skyrocketing along. Fast emails being sent out and getting annoyed when it takes more than a moment to arrive at its destination, which could be four time zones away with the contact I have with people in OZ and the US etc.
Blimey, maybe I should have skyped or IM’d that person. We’re living in Instant Message mentality-never more than a moment away from communication with more people we have to talk to, more work to be done, more meetings to attend, more, more, more has always been my attitude. It has mostly served me well.
We are all masters of multitasking, busily doing at least three things at once….
Cooking dinner while talking on the phone about the latest political/financial uproar we’re watching on the news. Our minds are filled to the brim, overflowing with stuff. How many banks went bust today? What’s wrong with my computer? Does my best friend have relationship issues? What if I do not have another record-breaking, profit filled month this month? Is my business safe? Will I have my next audio programme recorded in time? Why am I behind with my podcasts? What will my next blog entry be about? When’s my next client appointment? Do I have time to get to the right level of training for my next running race? (the Great South Run in 3 weeks time) etc, etc…
Whatever happened to the leisurely stroll after dinner? You know, the one that didn’t involve heart monitors or pedometers or the sensor you slip into your running shoes that connects wirelessly to your iPod so you can track your calories burned, miles run, and all that other information you so vitally need… Like my Garmin GPS watch that ells me the distance I have run, how fast I am running, and keeps me in he time zone calculated for my running session… The kind of walk that didn’t necessitate my iphone or wasn’t isolated in whatever world you tune into through your headphones.
If you want to be a real radical today, or just get a little saner, you have to unplug occasionally… In my opinion. Katie bet me I couldn’t do it… And I have. So nur-nur to you Katie…
I pushed away from the computer and took some walks-minus my iphone, heart rate monitor, GPS monitoring equipment… Just me, my wife and our feet… Fresh air in abundance… It has been a spectacularly beautifully sunny month here on the south coast of England.
I recommend it. It has made me so happy I am laughing in my sleep. It is a very refreshing change.
Walk for the enjoyment of feeling your feet connect to the earth (it’s there, even under concrete). Imagine that you are seeing everything anew. Fresh, with the wonder of a child, unspoiled… Regain that capacity and you regain the ability to play, laugh sing and dance through life a bit more… Maybe just notice clouds in the sky, feel the sun or wind on your face, listen to the birds. When you find yourself lost in your thoughts, stuck in your head, connect again to your feet as they touch the earth.
Slowing down is vital in this fast-paced world-vital for our health and basic sanity. See what happens when you say hello to lampposts (maybe not out loud) and watch the flowers growing (not much is going to happen though, it is no action movie!). I’ll bet you’ll love the life around you . . . and even feel a little groovy. It is not how I intend to be forever and always, it is like a little brain holiday and I thoroughly enjoy it…
