Slowing down matters for all of us. To live a meaningful life, each one of us needs to have enough time every day to pursue our own interests, relax and be with the people we love and care about.
Nobody likes being in the rush, nor having enough time for the people we love.
‘If everything seems under control, you’re not going too fast.‘
Unknown
Slowing down provides you with enough space and free time
Every day late in the evening, I see office employees on the streets who rush back home from work just to gain a few extra minutes of free time. Each morning, many of cubicle employees prolong the moment of leaving home to work, so they can say ‘Good morning’ to their spouse or children. Instead of leaving home very early while other family members are still sleeping.
It is totally natural for us to do things that we like and care about in our free time. Many children who have to leave the playground will immediately start crying because feeling happy is something completely normal to us as human beings.
People also need to have enough time for making good decisions. When people are in the hurry, they will not have time to make reasonable choices. In order to make smart decisions, you need time to think about advantages and disadvantages of that situation as well as consider good and bad consequences of that decision not only for yourself but also for others. Only then, you will be able to come up with meaningful conclusions.
If you make a bad decision about buying on impulse something that does not fit you well, but you liked how it was displayed in the store, you will probably want to buy another item later on trying to fix what had not gone well originally.
Attention to details that comes from slowing down can increase quality of life
Do not endanger your life by being in the hurry. Slow down! Follow The Slow Movement.
I have seen people over speeding on daily basis not to be late for a meeting. Many train or subway commuters jump on the train when the doors are about to close putting their lives in danger just to save a few minutes a day by not having to wait for another train.
You could say that saving a few minutes a day could make a big change to your family life, or even brag about how much extra time you could have had for your hobbies.
But, should our lives really be so hectic?
Of course not! People should always have enough time, so they do not need to try to prevent few extra minutes from being wasted on waiting for the next subway train.
Companies slowing down may avoid destroying natural environment
Companies are usually the world’s biggest polluters when they release excessive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air and toxic water into streams, rivers and oceans.
The reason why those companies constantly produce more and more is because people use more products on daily basis. We buy new cars every couple of years, own several electronic devices including phones and TVs. We also tend to consume more food and drinks than our bodies really need to survive and stay healthy.
Another reason why people use more products is because some companies make people want to buy more products through excessive advertising. Excessive advertising primarily does influence consumer demand. And in order to keep up with that demand, various manufacturers need more energy to produce more toys, clothes and cars. And then, our world slowly turns into a dirty garbage – just look at ocean pollution.
Having more waste management companies would be a true blessing!
Right now, probably every street in the world has some sort of waste: old newspapers, empty cans, candy wrappers or even plastic bags flying in the sky. The environment we live in nowadays is being ruined because people are told that they should buy more products in order to be happier.
That is not a good thing.
But, if you only slow down for a few minutes, you will find extra time to pick up a piece of waste. If one billion people could pay more attention for just one second, we would gain a billion extra seconds to clean and put the Earth’s cleanliness back in order.
Benefits for you from slowing down
By living a slow life, you can give yourself and your family valuable time to do simple but meaningful things together. For example, eat breakfast together without anyone being in a hurry to go to work, do outdoor activities like walking and running, or read out loud a great book.
You would not have to purchase low quality services which you are not happy with afterwards because people would spend more time and energy providing you with great experiences.
You would not have to buy crappy products that break after a month or two either.
Without being obsessed with speed, you and your family can enjoy pollution-free lives being surrounded by beautiful mountains, rivers and grasslands.
Because after all, quality of life is all that matters. What else could you possibly want from life?
