The Great Slowing Down

A man reaches a certain age, where he discovers the toll that the incessant, and pointless, attempts to get things done expediently— for the sake of expedience— have taken on his mind, body, and spirit. I’ve only recently arrived at that pivotal point of my own life. What I thought needed to take place as swiftly as possible, turns out, didn’t need to be expedited at all. In fact, in 99% of the cases, life was not changed one iota when the endeavor at hand was completed quickly. I dare say, life is actually more tolerable when we slow down, concentrate on completing a task with excellence as opposed to expedience.

Within nanoseconds, we are privy to information that used to take us weeks… even months to obtain. Weekly columns once written by seasoned reporters, can now be accessed the moment the article is completed by men and women who’ve only been writing for a few days yet call themselves “journalists.” When we choose to go out for dinner, the feast is typically ready within minutes— save the finer dining establishments of course. The radio program we used to listen to each evening at 5 o’clock, we now have access to, via our pocket phone, anytime of the day or night, 24-7. Even the cadence at which fuel comes through the hose and enters our automobiles is breakneck. It is safe to say that society has invested considerable effort and money into making us addicted to the expeditiously expedited acts of scurry and hurry. Milestones are now millisecond-stones. Perhaps a turning away from expeditiousness is warranted. Indeed, it might be better to embrace a great slowing down.

There is no better place on Earth to witness the utter destruction that a life centered around promptitude and haste can have on an individual than in today’s public school system. As an educator who has spent decades teaching on various elementary, middle, and high school campuses throughout Texas, I’ve seen firsthand how hustle and bustle are outright stealing civility, creativity, and common sense from the hearts and minds of what should be the leaders of tomorrow. Today’s students are hyper-focused (thanks in LARGE part to technology) on one thing… accessing an endorphin-inducing experience in the speed of lightning that will carry them away from the obligations that exist in the form of academia. So sad is this surreal societal squandering. It is becoming increasingly imperative that we grasp a great slowing down.

The horrific terroristic threat that exists in this country is less a “foreign entity issue” and more a “techno-monstrosity disguised as knowledge access issue.” And it is rapidly eating away at the Great American Family. Don’t believe me, look around the room the next time you find yourself at your favorite food service establishment. Dad… Mom… Son… and daughter… all on their cellular devices. AT THE SAME TABLE. Disappointment doesn’t even begin to describe the scene. So detached are they, that parents don’t even realise the enormity of the beast they’ve let enter their child’s life. Why? Because Father and Mother wanted a quick 30 minutes to themselves. They hired a seemingly efficient nanny that quickly tightened a grip around the thoughts, emotions, and self-control of the children. No longer are Dad, Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma destinations for inquiry… it is the device. The rapid, relentless, and rebellious device. Quick to give answers… slow to give mercy. Meanwhile, Father is visiting digital destinations that would make the preacher blush and run to the hills. And Mom? Why she’s found love in the arms of 60-second reels. Father and Mother have seemingly replaced each other via the device. The selfish, senseless, seemingly sensible (yet not) device. I believe it’s time we embody a great slowing down.

Let us turn our gaze upon the grassland,the garden, and the harvester’s barn for wisdom. Even the farmer himself. There, among the acreage and livestock, lies the answer. A call to slow down. To present ourselves to God as a people who know the value of living at a slower pace. For nothing fast happens on a farm or ranch. Crops take time. They understand that the unhurried root produces the best fruit. The beasts of the field know not rapidness, rush, or race. They graze gently and slowly, with little (if any) sense of urgency. Now turn your gaze to the tractor— that most important piece of agricultural equipment. Even when pushed to the brink, it struggles to accelerate past twenty-five miles per hour. Comparable to the tractor is the farmer himself. Never in a hurry. Slow to anger. Even slower to draw on his pipe. A slower pace, to be sure. Times are beginning to dictate that we adopt a great slowing down.

Now that I find myself “seasoned”, the realization that life is better when we value serenity over celerity hits its mark. If only I had come to this conclusion earlier in life. I could have better enjoyed family, friends, and festivals of faith. Alas, the time I spent in a rush is time I will never get back— a neglecting of those I love dearly. Thus, I’ve made it a mission to learn all I can about the Great Slowing Down. I want to grasp firmly a pace that doesn’t spike blood pressure, doesn’t cause confusion via chaotic (and unattainable) timelines, and doesn’t leave me feeling completely spent at the end… nay… middle of the day. In addition— in an act of servitude (a reflection of a servant Savior)— I’ve made it a life mission (going forward, of course, as the past is a past that has passed) to help the younger generations, that is to say those lost on the merry-go-round of rapidity, to seize The Great Slowing Down. If not for themselves, for those they hold most dear.