Don't Rush The Good Things

Relish the moments, don't rush by

Last week while standing at the airport ticket counter i was surprised to see a pile of voter id cards with the airline staff. I was intrigued by this collection and upon inquiring, found out that the travelers forgot these cards at the counter,while getting their tickets issued. This made me wonder what would could have been the  reason for this occurrence. My mind concluded that these people must have been in hurry and in that state of  frenzy they forgot their document at the counter. This event further leads me to choosing between two important things; first catching the flight and the other not losing our valued possessions. By valued possession i would mean mobile phones, wallets , documents , personal belonging etc., because losing any of them while traveling can cause lots of stress and inconvenience. Out of these two choices none of them can happen in isolation and they must mutually co exist for us to carry our day to day work and  travel. The mind has to multitask and be aware of the surroundings while carrying out an intended activity.

So analyzing further, i deduce that these days our minds are stressed , overworked and over burdened. The competition is so tough that being good is not a  option any more, we have to be the best in our fields. If we  don't meet the expectations someone else will, and younger generation is always a  notch better than the former. Since we are living in a knowledge era it is the intellectual capital and grey cells that play the most vital role in conducting ourselves and our businesses. For sure there will be a cap to the limit one can push his or her mind but then again, there are others who will keep on raising the benchmark day by day. The best possible scenario that emerges out is being smart , being aware, remain competitive and paradoxically "GO SLOW". Here i will introduce to you all the concept of ' The Slow Movement'.

From Wikipedia : Professor Guttorm Fløistad summarizes 'The Slow Movement philosophy'

"The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on you better speed up. That is the message of today. It could however be useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated ! It is the need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love! This is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal."

Traditionally we lived in joint families, communities that had a limited geographical area and spread. The bonds between people were strong and everyone had time to share and care. With the boundaries of our aspirations and available options in life getting bigger and bigger the mad rush has no stopping. There is no time to look back or reach out for things that make up a real and happy life. This hurry to perform and persist is causing lots of stress which is making us poorer by 'Quality Time'.Stress is leading to time crunch which in turn is taking us away from our people, our culture, our places and our relations.We are not only rushing at work but also our food, our family time, our relaxation time and even our leisure time.Probably people would agree with me that we were more happier during the times when means were limited and time was unlimited. 

The good news is there is an option, an approach to reclaim our happiness and lead a stress free life. The only effort that is required from us is changing our attitude and bring a shift in our thinking processes. Let me clarify i am not propagating slow work or slow actions and supporting inefficiency. All i am discussing here is the way to go slow and still be a winner in all walks of life.

Some ways to re look at the way we do things:

1. Travel Slow - Wherever you are connect to the place and persons, take out time to appreciate the difference. Take out time to visit local places , eat local local food and feel at home.

2. Slow Food - Relish the food served on the plate, make a connection to the farm it grew, the effort it took to prepare and feel privileged to share it with your family members. Eat the serving slowly thereby relishing the rich taste and savoring the love and affection of the one who cooked it for us.

3. Slow Work - Strive for excellence in whatever little you do. It is not the quantity that will matter but the quality that will define you work acumen. So, when the only differentiation is excellence why not work slow thereby giving our best and outperforming others. For that to happen our work demands our quality time too and we need to deep dive to ensure perfection and individual satisfaction. 

4.  Slow Living - Choose priorities in life, get away with the clutter and mundane events, work out a plan to make self and others around happy. Look for happiness in small things , rejuvenate your senses with the pristine beauty of things, be childlike and open your arms to a slow yet connected world. Take out time for family, friends, relatives and feel fortunate to have whatever god gave you.

There is a website that talks of this philosophy in much more detail. 

Visit it here http://www.slowmovement.com

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