Putting Brakes On My Pace

by Karen Mains

I needed to put a brake on my fast/faster pace. I began my summer journey into ramping down by re-reading the book by Carl Honoré, In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed. Practicing self awareness, I began to count the many moments of breathlessness in my days. I evaluated those “vices” of punctuality, efficiency, and goal-setting. I discovered I was speeding even when I drove under the speed limit! “Why are you rushing?” I began to demand of myself. “You’re on time. There’s no need to hurry. In fact, it looks as though you’ll arrive early.” After several weeks of this watchfulness, I concluded that I was addicted; I was on an adrenalin high, stimulated by the fast pace of our techno-driven, impersonal society that creates an impatience if we have to wait in line at the store, at our computers, or at a traffic light. “Instant gratification,” quipped actress/author Carrie Fisher, “takes too long.”

Honoré writes, “Fast is busy, controlling, aggressive, hurried, analytical, stressed, superficial, impatient, active, quantity-over-quality. Slow is the opposite: calm, careful, receptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient, reflective, quality-over-quantity.” No doubt in my mind, I want to go back to there, back to what musicians call the tempo giusto—the right speed. I am a contemplative who has lost her way this summer in material activism. I need to get back to the Center and stop rushing through my days. I want to get back to what Richard Rohr in his book The Naked Now calls “the Gospel life,” to become that kind of person who has eyes to see and who sees. It means making the major calling of my life a calling of prayer. Read the full article on Hungry Souls...