1、2/12/08 1:15 AMThe slow life: Real blue sky thinking - CNN.comPage 1 of 3http:/ England (CNN) - Do you have the feeling that life is getting away from you,that there arent enough hours in the day to get everything done? Dont worry, its notjust you, the pace of city life really is speeding up.A recen
2、t survey by the University of Hertfordshire and British Council found that citydwellers are walking 10 percent faster than in 1994. Singapore topped the list withlocals rushing around 30 percent faster than they were in the early 1990s.Deliberately slowing your walking pace in the city against this
3、rising tide of rushaholicscould see you swiftly swatted out of the way by irritable commuters, but just by toningdown the nagging sense that you have to do more, and do it faster, can have plenty oflong term benefits.At least thats the belief of journalist and author Carl Honor, a man whose own slow
4、life epiphany came when he found himself speed reading bedtime stories to his son.His book “In Praise of Slow“ champions the benefits of taking more time to considerthings.“We live in a world that is obsessed with speed that is stuck in fast forward. We oftenlose sight of the damage that this road-r
5、unner form of life does to us - on our health,our diet, our work,“ he said.Slowing, not slackingIf it all sounds to you like the musings from a slackers manifesto, youre not yet in tunewith the concept of the slow life. Resist the tug of technology: turn off your mobile, dontsend that email just yet
6、 and try and forget, just for a few minutes, about the thousandtedious tasks that you feel need to be done.Slowing down doesnt mean opting out or even downshifting, and reclaiming the termslow from pejorative uses is part of the (slow and steady) battle of people like CarlHonor.The stigma attached t
7、o slowing down equates it with an idleness at odds with thedominant work ethos of always doing more and doing it faster.As well as the slow food movement, there are slow towns, aiming to improve the qualityof life for inhabitants and making them more pleasant places to live. Its more aphilosophical
8、statement rather than a directive. Ludlow was the first UK town to achieveslow town status, but admittedly, life in this Shropshire market town has never beenanything other than sedate.“But why slow down when you can multi-task,“ you might ask? Well, multi-tasking is aflawed skill and theres been pl
9、enty of scientific research to prove it.“Multi-tasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes,“ David E.Meyer, a cognitive scientist and director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratoryat the University of Michigan, told the New York Times. “Disruptions and interruptions
10、are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.“Thats not to say that people who have trouble walking and chewing gum at the sametime are more enlightened, but most people who have juggled a number of tasks at thesame time wont need scientific research to confirm that by do
11、ing many things at once,youre less likely to do any of them well.Some “meteorological meditation“ can giveyou time to think.The slow life: Real blue sky thinkingPOSTED: 5:34 a.m. EDT, June 25, 2007HomeWorldU.S.WeatherBusinessSportsAnalysisPoliticsLawTechScienceHealthEntertainmentOffbeatTravelEducati
12、onSpecialsAutosI-ReportsMember Center: Sign In | RegisterSearchInternational EditionTools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Popular |By Dean Irvine for CNNAdjust font size:Skip the fast food and go slowThe Cloud Appreciation SocietyCarl HonoreRELATED2/12/08 1:15 AMThe slow life: Real blue sky thinking -
13、 CNN.comPage 2 of 3http:/ your head in the cloudsOne man gently mocking the meaninglessness of modern life and taking things sloweris Gavin Pretor-Pinney. As author of The Cloud Spotters Guide and co-founder of TheIdler magazine hes literally reclaiming blue sky thinking from business buzzwordblabbe
14、r.His book was a best seller in the UK last year and there is now a web site called TheCloud Appreciation Society. While the book is filled with fascinating facts and anecdotesabout clouds, its just as much an exercise in contemplation and rejection of theaccepted goals of modern life, something tha
15、t fits well into the slow life canon.“The speed at which clouds develop and change is so gradual; its quite the opposite ofthe pace of life in the city. By spending a little time contemplating clouds, youre reallyforced to slow down. Its a kind of meteorological meditation,“ he says.“Most people wal
16、k around looking at the floor, but the whole act of looking upwards isalmost like a yogic exercise; you broaden your perspective and open your vision.“After ten years working as art director for The Idler magazine and doing other freelancegraphics work to pay the rent he and co-founder Tom Hodgkinso
17、n decided to take asabbatical for six months. As its only produced twice a year, it only wiped out oneissue.“I did a flat swap with someone in Rome with the intention of doing absolutely nothing. Iwrestled with all the psychological aspects of this, wondering if I was just beingirresponsible and was
18、ting half a year.“He ended up doing a lot of research for his book and found the whole experience oftaking time out incredibly rewarding.“By giving myself space and taking a break from thinking that I had to achievesomething really let ideas take form. I ended up moving from being a designer to awri
19、ter and really pursuing my interests,“ he said.Clouds have a universal appeal, as does taking a sabbatical from work. For many whocant afford this luxury, the benefits of taking time to appreciate the clouds or just givingyourself time to do something you really enjoy is always worth it.As Carl Hono
20、r says quite simply: “By slowing down at the right moments we do stuffbetter.“For Pretor-Pinney there is the irony is that while his cloud life is a fine practical exampleof The Idler ethos, he has found himself as the head of The Cloud Appreciation Society,an international association with more tha
21、n 8,000 members in 45 countries.“I spend so much time on it now that clouds have almost taken over my life, but it justgoes to show that if instead of pursuing the money and you follow what you like doingand do it well, good things and even money will come from it.“Tips to live a slow lifeDrink more
22、 tea - making a cup of tea is the perfect pursuit and displacement activityto idly consider absolutely nothing and everything. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu calledit an essential ingredient in the elixir of life, so it cant be bad.Walk more - what could be better than moving at a pace nature intended
23、and gettingsome fresh air round your chops. Youll see much more than by taking public transportor driving.Realize that time is nothing more than an abstract concept used to measure thedistance between to points, its futile and pointless to even consider beating it, so donttry.Watch cricket - dont wo
24、rry about the rules, its a game that takes five days to playand at the end there often isnt a winning team. As a spectator sport its as much aboutwatching the grass grow as appreciating a fine cover drive.Take up cabinet making - you cant rush a good piece of furniture.Next story in Health HealthToo
25、ls: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Popular |Japan outcry grows after U.S. Marines arrestCondemnations rang out from several corners in JapanTuesday after a 38-year-old U.S. Marine was accused of2/12/08 1:15 AMThe slow life: Real blue sky thinking - CNN.comPage 3 of 3http:/ Edition Languages CNN TV CNN
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