atlas shrugged: May 2013

Yes speed is great too, of course. I love occasional bursts of speed, for excitement, for exhiliration.

Im not against speed in certain contexts: speed of thought for example, mercurial minds are often inspirational.

But I feel that speed too often comes from anxiety and is borne of panic or nervousness. Speed in our actions and in our thoughts is like hard unripened fruit and does not satisfy.

I feel that in the 21st century in the west we are being forced to live our lives at a faster rate than ever before. I feel that many people are unhappy with this., but unable to fight it, or even name it.

we are kept 'busy' all the time, or perhaps it might be truer to say, we make oursleves busy to fit the fast rhythmn that we feel all around us.

I have been victim / enactor of this speed myself, expecially in my youth. I used to go out and dance with furioius speed all night long, to exorcise my demons and all the intense nervous energy I had.

I would break things and leave things unfinished, as I was unable to slow myself down.

Slowing ourselves down, in our bodies and our minds is extremely beneficial. finding our own innate rhythmn is what is really important, 'marching to our own tune' . This may not be easy as we may then be going against the rhythmns imposed from outisde.

perhaps this slowing down is the result of my age but I also feel that it is a mindset that can be applied at any age.

If we slow down we become more attentive, to oursleves and others. we become more observant, we see what others miss. we become more patient and better listeners, because we have made space in our minds.

If you are on a fast train, its a wonderful feeling, to speed across the land. But what you see is a constantly changing vista, with no time to really digest what you are looking at. you have no sensual interaction with the world.

If you are on foot or on a bicycle, you interact with the world around you. you can stop and look and smell and touch.

This is a good analogy for the power of slow and how it can really change you life.

It has for me, in a very deep way.