Slow is Beautiful

by Raymund Tamayo

Many are pretty busy and in a hurry just about every day. Some even like it that way – almost a status symbol as it shows you are important and productive and an achiever.

I reject that. I’d rather take it easy, find peace of mind and be able to relax and really enjoy the life God gave me, than allow it to pass me by just so I can be “productive” and show everyone how important I am.

The thing with busy is, it never ends.

There’s no end to a to-do list. We’re like hamsters on a treadmill, running for no real purpose, except to make a boss happy, to make money for someone else, or perhaps to make money for ourselves… but to what end?

Is being busy the real meaning of life? Or is there a better life?

We need to discover what it’s like to do nothing, sit still, enjoy silence, and just breathe.

We need to put more space in between things, instead of cramming them together all the time.

There is a movement in Europe called Slow Food, which “establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, and spend time with family and friends without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle.”

I love this idea. It’s finding focus, simplicity, and priority in life.

It’s not just a matter of organizing, reducing clutter, and saving money… it’s a matter of slowing down to enjoy life more and make room for more beneficial things, of savoring life’s simple pleasures, of rejecting on some level the materialistic culture we are all caught up in and embracing fellow humans instead.

It is about having a life well-lived. A life that will echo in eternity.