Is old a new beginning?

Trevin Matcek’s great short movie “Life begins at retirement” questions and explores the future of growing old. Many questions arise – how will future society take care of old people and retirees, what is it that makes us who we are (is it our body, our mind, our memories or is there something more) and is the future in the movie something we’re really looking forward to. Movie also analizes social and family relationships, the answer to body and mind who lost their abilities due to sickness as well as the price of ‘going back in time’ where we can again share feelings and moments with people who are ‘slipping away’ or communicate and be with a person who is no longer a part of this reality.

Festina lente

As years pass bay and my 20’s pass on grey ships into the west, I find slow to be my philosophy more each day. Just like George Constanza, most people think that looking impatient, annoyed, always in a hurry and sighing will give others the impression that you are busy and working hard. And in today’s world working hard and being busy all the time are the most important characteristics of a worthy man.

If you find time for a hobby, to read books and magazines, spend time with your friends, go off for a weekend, make yourself a lunch that takes more than 15 minutes to “prepare” or watch a movie in the evening instead of going through your papers for tomorrow, then you’ll probably become famous as a flower-power drone who has a nerve to sign up for a course in art in his free time. What’s art all about, anyway? It won’t bring money into house or put food on the table.

People became too stressed about the issue of time, too tense and loaded with feeling of missing something, not having time for themselves or their love ones. The time seems to pass quicker and quicker and we can’t catch up with it. The harder we try to make it up, the greater the feeling we missed it is, so we’re constantly being left with the feeling of discontent, emptiness and lack of something.

Now let’s look at the bright side of life. There are people out there who are becoming more and more aware of the importance of taking it slow. There are so many of them that we can acctualy speak about the movement. And what do they take slow? Everything – food, travelling, working and business, exercising, relationships, sex, education, parenting, breathing, … in one word: life. Slow doesn’t mean you have to act as sloths (though they are very cute), it means doing everything at the right speed. As Carl Honoré says “Do everything as well as possible, not as fast as possible”. Engage deeply with the things you do and connect.

For instance, you can live in a Slow home which focuses on sustainable living and promotes green, local, simple, healthy and modern lifestyle.

You can take a Slow trip for a holiday and revive the train trips of your childhood when you gazed through the window in between the lines of an interesting book, when you knew you were somewhere half way through and it was a time to take a sandwich from your backpack.

Slow Food is quite interesting, too. Not just because I’m fond of eating but because it spread across the globe quite successfully. It is most known in Italy where it started in the year 1989, but also USA where it’s known as Locavore Movement promoting ecology and sustainability by growing, selling and eating locally produced, home grown food. There’s no need to drive to a huge supermarket spending hours between the shelves only to end up with the E-numbered corn based groceries. The Slow Movement is spreading to all fields of life, so now we have Slow research, Slow management, Slow leadership, Slow homes, Slow shops, Slow libraries, etc.

What it takes to slow down? A change of mindset and perception. Give time a chance. It’s all about making connections, feeling connected. And what do you do when you find yourself loosing your head and speeding again? Sometimes you’ll just have to keep on rushing because it’s also a part of our lives. If you’re not a great saddhu somewhere in the Himalayas you’ll have to speed up from time to time. Just don’t make it a rule. Most of the time you’ll get to the finish line if you take your time. And you’ll enjoy it more; whether it’s working, learning, travelling or having sex. Just remember Constanza’s philosophy of the opposites, slow down and enjoy the consequences. 🙂

If you want to find out more or get involved in this cultural revolution, you can read Carl Honoré’s “In praise of slow: how a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed”, TreeHugger’s article “Seven slow movements and memes that can change our lives” or visit Slow Movement’s web page. Become more connected to the world inside you and around you. That will surely change your perception of time.

Celebrating Earth every day

Ask not what Earth can do for you, but what you can do for Earth. Here are some suggestions:

• watch the movie “Home”, think about it and act (or some other similar movie)

• plant a tree

• turn the water off while brushing teeth, shampooing hair or scrubbing dishes

• use energy saving light bulbs

• walk or ride a bicycle instead of driving a car

• turn off the light/cooling/heating when leaving the room

• turn off the gadgets when they’re not being used

• recycle (clothes, furniture, gadgets, electronics, plastic, glass, paper, … everything you can)

• instead of buying, adopt a pet

• buy Fairtrade products

• use natural cleaning products and cosmetics that haven’t been tested on animals or contain ingredients harmful to you or nature

• respect nature, plants, animals and people

• respect and take care of your whole self – your body, your mind and your spirit

• grow your own food

• become a vegetarian or eat less meat

• use renewable sources of energy

• enjoy the silence sometimes

• imagine

• spend more time in nature

• hug a tree

• remember what it was like being a child

• don’t work too hard, allow yourself some time for counting clouds

• learn about nature and environment, sustainability, ecology

• try to know more about old cultures like San, Aborigines or Kayapo

• share the knowledge

• get involved in local or/and global organizations

• live every day as Earth day (21st of April)

And remember “Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” (Chief Seattle’s letter to all people)