Let me pass along a random book recommendation today – let’s talk about In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore. I can’t call this an official edition of the ‘SoBros Book Club’ because…well…honestly, it’s been so long since I’ve read this book that I don’t remember too much beyond the profound effect it had on me back when I was a college senior struggling to get that degree, anxious about entering the real world, and being very aware of how the carefree nature of life, knowing nothing but school, was about to change. I just bought a new copy to replace the one I had because my original was lost to the 2010 Nashville flood. Yeah, I guess we’re talkin’ all kinds of history today.
We live in the age of speed. We strain to be more efficient, to cram more into each minute, each hour, each day. Since the Industrial Revolution shifted the world into high gear, the cult of speed has pushed us to a breaking point. Consider these Americans on average spend seventy-two minutes of every day behind the wheel of a car, a typical business executive now loses sixty-eight hours a year to being put on hold, and American adults currently devote on average a mere half hour per week to making love. Living on the edge of exhaustion, we are constantly reminded by our bodies and minds that the pace of life is spinning out of control. In Praise of Slowness traces the history of our increasingly breathless relationship with time and tackles the consequences of living in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down? Realizing the price we pay for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down the pace — and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives as a result.
Anyway, I struggle with anxiety. I was just actually diagnosed with it last year (because I just never went to the doctor from the time I turned 18 until now), but I’ve struggled with it for my entire adult life. Even back then, from 2004-2008 when I was a student at MTSU, I felt overwhelmed by a hyperactive brain that was constantly processing a myriad of potential scenarios, most of which were not good. I’ve always carried that sense of frenetic pace about me, and I’ve only recently learned how to manage it in a healthier way than staying up all night planning for a million different scenarios that will never happen.
Back in 2008, I was venting about this to a friend a la Alabama….”I’m in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life’s no fun.” THAT Alabama….not Roll Tide Alabama. He recommended this book to me after he picked it up at our local Books-A-Million, and he told me that it helped to put life into a different perspective for him – to stop focusing so much on what’s next, and to enjoy what’s now a little deeper. I wish I could that ever since that day, I’ve stopped to smell the roses a little more, but I haven’t. That’s not true – I still work way too much, and I worry about things that I have no reason to worry about. But, this book framed the act of slowing down in a practical and calculated manner.
In Praise of Slowness introduced two very important concepts to my young and overactive brain – slowing down allows you to catch your breath and clear your head, but it also makes you feel much more grounded and connected to the world around you. And more often than not, it takes a bit of awareness on your part to recognize when you’re being spread too thin, and to seek out effective ways of slowing your brain down. For instance, I can’t just go lie down in bed and relax. My mind still needs something to fixate on. For me, it was the idea of eating slow – of taking time to prepare fresh ingredients and cook a dinner that takes real time and effort.
That’s a practice I still use to this day, and it helps me decompress every evening. My day job can be stressful at times, and on such days, it’s hard to really shift my focus and work for five-six more hours on SoBros Network stuff. I can’t be my funniest, most thoughtful or entertaining self when I’m burnt out. So, I put a hard break in between the two. I clock out of the day job, turn on some music or a podcast, and I take my time cooking dinner for my wife and me. When we’ve eaten, I usually feel energized to tackle the next day’s content. Of course, this is all in a state of flux. I still have down time and busy time all the same, but as a general practice, I try to stay pretty consistent. I’ve found that it helps – it’s a cleansing sort of feeling to focus on the simple act of slicing a tomato or stirring a stew…to remove the noise from the outside world and bring a sense of calm and peace to my overindulgent mind. I’m not telling you all to start cooking home-cooked meals…we all have our own things that help us cope with those frantic periods in our lives. What I’m saying is to seek out whatever that thing is for you, and maybe this book could help you with that.
I hope you’ll pick up a copy, or shit, you can just borrow mine once it gets here! But, you don’t have to read this entire book to understand those concepts at all. Our way of living right now is designed to keep us in the hamster wheel, and folks, I don’t know if you know this or not, but those things are guaranteed to go nowhere. Practice the art of slowing down, and if you’re high strung like I am, it just might make you feel a little more at ease. It worked for me, anyway.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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