Last night, I told myself to start moving slowly. To intentionally slow down when walking, speaking, moving, breathing, looking, and even singing that song in my head. Trying to take my own advice from a few days ago, I wanted to sleep well.
Surprisingly, it seemed to have worked.
But, actually, I’m not surprised. I have been giving this advice to myself on and off for at least 3 years. Almost every time that I listen, it works. So why do I keep not listening to it?
I think about watching a documentary about Pope Francis. It began with him speaking very slowly and me thinking very quickly. I could feel myself trying to rush him to the next word—“OK OK, I get your point, move on.” I think it was sometime, maybe 20 minutes in, when I finally started to relax into the rhythm.
This has happened many times, especially with some of the speakers I admire the most. Not only Pope Francis, but Mr. Rogers and Martin Luther King, Jr. They speak at a pace much slower than I normally would and I feel myself trying to rush them along. Hell, this happens with friends and family all the time. I will know which point they’re going to make and if not physically moving my hands in a circular motion to speed up, I will mentally do it.
And it can make me feel miserable.
It’s this conundrum I face and I’m sure I’m not alone: I feel relaxed and very present when I move slowly, and then I get angry at myself for being relaxed (because things need to happen!) and for being present (because the future!). However, at the same time, I feel really annoyed when someone pushes me to go faster than I want to go, especially when I’m trying to move slowly. I can recall working on weeklong training projects in Germany and my roommate storming into the room at 7am with a speed that shook my existence—the quick stomping of the feet, the rushed look for items, and the swift closing (slamming) of the door.
One thing I noticed by slowing down last night is that the night seemed to last longer. When I woke up, it seemed as if I had slept longer even though the time was the same. Maybe Einstein was right in that time is relative. When I slow down, the world seems to slow down and maybe this is the easiest trick to extending our lives. Live longer by living more slowly because we think we’re living longer.
I don’t know but it’s worth a try.
