Um movimento global está a desafiar o culto da velocidade!
Por que estamos sempre com pressa? Qual a solução para a falta de tempo?
É possível desacelerar e recuperar a qualidade de vida?
A pressa faz-nos passar ao de leve pelas coisas, sem as aprofundamente, sem realmente as entender.A cultura dominante diz-nos que mais rápido é melhor. Andamos tão apressados que tudo e todos os que nos atrasem se transformam no inimigo.
Enquanto não nos dermos conta de que o nosso ritmo é o ritmo da natureza, continuaremos como o Coelho de “Alice no País da Maravilhas”: de relógio na mão, atrasados, atrasados, atrasados. Sem tempo para tudo o que temos de fazer, sem tempo pessoal, num frenesim de actividades.
Carl Honoré, um jornalista canadiano, escreveu um livro, agora traduzido para português, sobre o movimento slow, já presente em vários países, e que desafia o culto da velocidade, mostrando que mais devagar é muitas vezes melhor.
O movimento Slow não defende fazer tudo a passo de caracol; significa viver melhor no frenético mundo moderno, encontrando um equilíbrio entre o rápido e o lento
Alguns websites ligados ao movimento slow :
Slowlondon
O movimento Slow não defende fazer tudo a passo de caracol; significa viver melhor no frenético mundo moderno, encontrando um equilíbrio entre o rápido e o lento
Alguns websites ligados ao movimento slow :
Slowlondon
A group of young, dynamic urbanites who push the Slow creed in London with serious intent and a sense of humour. A number of public events are in the works, but in the meantime check out their splendid web site. It has tips on slowing down, links to like-minded groups, articles from the press, letters from Londoners, a commuter blogger and a dictionary of slow terms. There’s even an agony aunt called slowcoach. If only every city had a group like this. Now there’s an idea….
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One of the easiest and most pleasurable ways to slow down is with food, and this organization (80,000 members in 100 countries) is leading the charge. I visit the site to see what’s going on in the world of gastronomic slowness.
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Moving the Slow philosophy from the dinner table to the town hall. An offshoot of Slow Food that aims to take some of the excess speed and stress out of urban life. More than 30 Italian cities have been certified as "Slow," and the movement has spread into other countries, including Britain, Germany and Norway. One of my favourite Slow Cities is Orvieto in Umbria.
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New Urbanism
A movement dedicated to building North American neighborhoods that encourage walking and community spirit. My favourite New Urbanist development is Kentlands, a suburb near Gaithursburg MA in the US. If I ever return to North American suburbia (which is a pretty big ‘if’), this is the kind of neighbourhood I’d want to live in.
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Candle Night
http://candle-night.org/english/home.php
During the night of the summer solstice (June 21), people across Japan turn off the electricity for two hours. The idea is to do slow things by candle-light - read, eat together, meditate, whatever reconnets you with your inner tortoise.
Do something special--Read a book with your child by candlelight. Enjoy a quiet dinner with a special person.
This night can mean many things for many people.A time to save energy, to think about peace, to think about people in distant lands who share your planet.
Pulling the plug open the window to a new world.Awakens as to human freedom and diversity.
It is a process, finding a larger possibility of the human civilization.
By turning off lights for only two hours, we will be all loosely connected.
Let's make a "wave of darkness" spread over the globe together.
On the evening of Summer solstice, June 21st, for two hours from eight to ten p.m. Turn off the lights, take it slow.
http://candle-night.org/english/home.php
During the night of the summer solstice (June 21), people across Japan turn off the electricity for two hours. The idea is to do slow things by candle-light - read, eat together, meditate, whatever reconnets you with your inner tortoise.
Do something special--Read a book with your child by candlelight. Enjoy a quiet dinner with a special person.
This night can mean many things for many people.A time to save energy, to think about peace, to think about people in distant lands who share your planet.
Pulling the plug open the window to a new world.Awakens as to human freedom and diversity.
It is a process, finding a larger possibility of the human civilization.
By turning off lights for only two hours, we will be all loosely connected.
Let's make a "wave of darkness" spread over the globe together.
On the evening of Summer solstice, June 21st, for two hours from eight to ten p.m. Turn off the lights, take it slow.
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Montréal switches into tortoise mode on June 21, with loads of activities to help the locals slow down.
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An Austrian-based group that promotes living, working and playing at the right pace. It has members all over central Europe. What I like best about them is their sense of humour. Sometimes they run speed-traps for pedestrians in city centres. Anyone caught walking too fast is pulled over and asked to explain their haste. The punishment is walking 50 metres while steering a tortoise marionette along the pavement. Most people love being stopped, and some even return later in the day to walk the tortoise a second time.
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You've heard of Speed Dating. Well, now the backlash has begun. Slow Dating has hit the ground running (slowly) in Montréal, Canada.
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Slow Life
http://slow-life.net/
Japan has a reputation as the home of speed, but the Japanese are coming round to the idea of slowness in a big way. This site is a good starting point for exploring the spread of the Slow movement in Japan.
Japan has a reputation as the home of speed, but the Japanese are coming round to the idea of slowness in a big way. This site is a good starting point for exploring the spread of the Slow movement in Japan.
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Diamond Light Tantra
We all laughed when Sting confessed to marathon Tantric sex sessions with his wife, but now couples of all ages are flocking to workshops to learn the art of slower love-making. Tantra is one way to decelerate in bed. I attended a Diamond Light workshop in London and, once I got over my inclination to giggle, found it quite moving.
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While researching my book, I met Alberto Vitale, a jet-setting web-designer from Bra, the headquarter city of Slow Food. He figured that what works at the dinner table might just work in the bedroom. So he became an apostle for erotic deceleration. This is his Italian-language site.
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Long Now Foundation
One consequence of our hurry-up culture is a collective inability to see beyond the short term. To make the case for slowness and for thinking long-term, this group, which has many members from the IT industry, builds large clocks that measure time over 10,000 years. I was bowled over by the one at the Science Museum in London.
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One of the most engaging characters I met on my journey through the Slow movement was Uwe Kliemt. A Hamburg-based pianist, he is a leading light in Tempo Giusto, a loosely-knit group of musicians who argue that we play a lot of classical music too fast. I still listen to his slower renditions of Mozart and Beethoven. This is his site, parts of which are in English.
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The Sink
Wendel Messer, a driving instructor with a wry sense of humour, has written a novel satirizing Canadian driving culture – the mindless hurry, the rage. This is his site.
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International Meditation Centres
Learning how to still the mind is a big part of slowing down. I find meditation immensely relaxing. It also clears the head and gets the creative juices flowing during the workday. There are six IMC branches around the world, each offering retreats where anyone can learn Buddhist meditation. I attended the one in Wiltshire, England.
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Not all meditation comes with religious baggage. Over five million people worldwide use TM, including a couple of my friends, who swear by it.
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People all over the world are setting up personal websites to decry rushaholism and sing the praises of slowness. This is one of the more amusing ones. It also has a chat forum. It is the brainchild of an Englishman who lives in the U.S.
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So many children nowadays are hurried and over-scheduled. Some of my son’s classmates have diaries that would make a CEO go weak at the knees. This is one of many organizations that are helping parents help their children slow down and have more free time.
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Slow Now
Even outside the traditional Western world, people are waking up to the folly of relentless speed and busyness. This Warsaw-based group is bursting with ideas for how to promote the Slow movement in Poland. It also has an English-language chat forum.
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Part of slowing down is rethinking the way we make and interact with things, and how that affects our relationship with other people and the environment. This is a New York-based network of creative thinkers who apply the Slow philosophy to all aspects of design.
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ho says business can’t be Slow? Removing unnecessary hurry from the workplace can cut down on mistakes, boost creative thinking and raise productivity. This Toronto-based group promotes the idea that slowness has a role to play in the business world.
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An Italian organization that promotes the joys of living better by living more slowly.
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In October 2004, Canberra held its first Slow Festival. For a whole week, the Australian city played host to lunches, debates, concerts, walks, workshops and art exhibitions dedicated to exploring the benefits of deceleration. The plan is to make the festival an annual event. This is the official site.
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In a speech at The Royal Academy of Arts in London, Robert Hughes, the Time magazine critic, called for art that delivers more than just a quick thrill.
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Woody Tasch, a leading ethical investor, applies the Slow philosophy to business and the financial markets.
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A group dedicated to helping Australians rediscover their inner tortoise. Runs workshops on the art of slowing down in every walk of life, from parenting to working.
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A site all about escaping the rat race in Australia.
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Researchers are beginning to see the merits of taking their time in the hunt for data and trends.
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Longplayer is a piece of music that will run for 1,000 years. It started to play on January 1st, 2000 in London. You can read about and listen to the music on this site.
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A fascinating search for ways to bring the Slow ethos into the corporate boardroom.
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Ohad Fishof has turned walking very slowly into performance art. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Longplayer (see other link), he crossed London Bridge at a glacial pace – it took him nine hours, 43 minutes and 25 seconds. I chatted with him on his lunch break. He told me that he plans to carry out Slow Walks in other cities around the world.
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As a leading proponent of downshifting, Tracey Smith writes, broadcasts and raises chickens. She is the driving force behind the annual National Downshifting Weeks in Britain and the United States.
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Laura Williams is a young English artist with a big idea. She plans to build the world’s first tidal-powered Moon Clock. Her aim is to make us rethink our relationship with time and the natural world.
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An international festival featuring one-minute films shot in slow-motion. The aim is to create meditative art that encourages viewers stop and smell the roses and experience time in a less hurried way.
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The name says it all. Based in British Columbia, this party calls on everyone to work less, consume less and live more. It even runs candidates in local elections.
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Slowing down and simplifying your life are often two sides of the same coin. This site is a gateway to the world of "voluntary simplicity."
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This is a nifty invention - a watch with variable speeds. The original purpose was to offer a gentle transition between time zones for international travelers. But the inventor tells me it has other uses in daily life: "You can use the watch to speed up time during a dull party or slow it down to prolong a pleasurable experience."
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An international foundation that works to improve the lot of under-privileged children, especially in developing countries. Its community projects make a real difference on the ground. I have never forgotten the months I spent working at a Terre Des Hommes centre for street children in Fortaleza, Brazil. We helped the kids create a shoe-shine cooperative.
