The ability to consciously choose your own rhythm, and not under the pressure of circumstances, is the goal of the Slow Life movement, which seeks to give us freedom from the dictates of speed. Why don’t we dream?
We are increasingly being called to stop rushing. After all, it is precisely the ability to “live consciously” that is so lacking for those living in the age of speed, where in the whirlwind of affairs you often do not have time to realize what is happening to you. We should not think that “slow life” will solve all our problems. But we can hope that it will show us the limits of our capabilities and create at least small islands of peace.
slow food
Resistance to the standardization and industrialization of tastes began in Italy. In 1986, when the first McDonald’s opened in Rome, Italian sociologist and restaurant critic Carlo Petrini declared war on fast food. He created the non-profit association Slow Food, which advocated a return to a varied diet and the preservation of national gastronomic traditions. “Slow food” doesn’t mean long chewing or long cooking times, laughs association member Alessandra Roverai. “This is a conscious and shared pleasure that gives you the opportunity to meet new people. Slow food stimulates the appetite and lifts the spirit!” To promote its philosophy, the association organizes international events, such as the Taste Salon in Turin. Adherents of “slow food” appeared in Russia as well. The most notable of the communities is the Moscow Snail*. Its activists hold seminars and farmers’ festivals, where, in addition to the food fair, master classes are held by chefs with the indispensable tasting of “slow” dishes.
Slow tourism
Get out of the car, take a picture, sit back, drive to the next point “with a view” … Such a detour of sights can not be called a real trip, adherents of “slow tourism” (Slow Tourism) are sure. They like to slowly soak up the spirit of a new place and improvise along the way. In their opinion, the current tourist consumes cliches, sees a kaleidoscope of pictures, but does not have time to feel anything. “The essence of “slow tourism” is immersion in the environment: the opportunity to slowly get to know the local population and choose a route based on your intuition,” explains Rafael Matos-Wasem, a researcher at the Swiss Institute of Economics and Tourism. “If we pick up a guide, we immediately lose spontaneity, and the journey ceases to be individual, our own.”
Do not plan everything and do not spare time for contemplation – these are the key conditions for traveling. And (if possible) greener ways of traveling are also encouraged: not trying to get as far and as fast as possible, but taking a train and exploring the immediate surroundings, perceiving the road as a valuable part of the trip.
slow art
The term “slow art” (Slow Art) appeared in 2005 in the British newspaper Sunday Times – the artist Grayson Perry (Grayson Perry) turned to colleagues with an ironic appeal: “Artists, I urge you to take the time to work with the sketchbook. Think them over for a long time and carefully, on occasion discuss your ideas with colleagues, instead of calling the manufacturer and immediately ordering him a sculpture … ”It is not known whether this call was heard, but the concept was fixed. Thus, the American Association “Reading as an Odyssey” organizes visits to museums on a reduced program**. Members of the association choose a dozen works from the museum’s collection, which can be slowly contemplated, and then discussed. Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic also embodies the ideas of “slow art”. Recently, she sat silently for hundreds of hours in a chair in the hall of the MoMA Museum of Modern Art in New York. This extremely tense performance evoked the most varied and unexpected emotions in the audience.
slow sex
Couples, tired of the modern rhythm of life and the race for success, now have sex for only a few minutes. Meanwhile, to get sensual pleasure, to try something new, to listen to a partner or to prolong foreplay, it takes time. The love act is not reduced to an orgasm, it is a process of communication, so you need to make love slowly and stop measuring sex by the result. Slow Sex requires the exact opposite of training and achievement: relearning not to set the bar too high. The movement to slow down is a common-sense reaction to the risk of losing humanity. His strength lies in the evidence of his call: if we continue to live as we do now, we will face big troubles, from the collapse of relationships to social catastrophes.
*For more details see www.slowfood-ulitka.ru
**Association website – www.slowartday.com
“Do not make sacrifices in the name of speed!”
Interview with Carl Honoré
Psychologies : The concept of Slow is getting more and more popular. But won’t it just be a fashion?
Carl Honore Carl Honore: Calls to live more slowly have been heard since the XNUMXth century: they are the same age as the industrial revolution. Today, the term Slow is used very widely, so there is a risk that it will become part of marketing strategies. But for now, it works because it violates taboos (after all, the West is wary of everything slow) and responds to our unanimous desire to slow down. In essence, it is not so much about doing everything slowly, but about not rejecting or destroying anything for the sake of speed. The Slow philosophy pits the best against the fast, and quality against quantity. Living at your own pace is much easier if you have a secretary, a nanny, a driver…
Will it turn out that the “slow life” will essentially turn out to be a luxury?
K. O. K. O.: The same was said about , until it turned out that healthy food is not necessarily more expensive and also helps to save on drugs. Europeans spend an average of 4 hours a day watching TV, and this is a good reserve of time to use. To slow down, you must first reconsider your priorities. Even single women who struggle to balance school schedules, transportation, housework and modest incomes have the opportunity to rethink their relationship with time and speed. For example, you can set aside 15 minutes after the kids have settled down to just breathe before rushing to do the dishes to “recharge the batteries”. Or skip cleaning on weekends to play with the kids or just be with them. Choosing a slow pace of life can lead to major cultural shifts: by allowing ourselves to ask for help, we help each other more; by distributing family responsibilities in a new way, we get more equality; giving up tyranny we are more sympathetic to the weaknesses of others. We’re not lying when we say we can’t slow down. We lie, saying that you can do everything without giving up anything.
What about “slow sex”? Are you serious?
K. O. K. O. (laughs): The slowdown movement calls for finding the right time for everything. I believe that it is necessary to go through the Slow stage, to give ourselves time to stop and think, if we want to return quality and meaning to our lives. Companies are beginning to realize that employees who are able to work at their own pace are more creative and engaged. The crisis in the economy made us realize that we need to plan for the long term, taking into account the interests of people and the environment, and not get hung up on momentary benefits. As for the “slow sex”, then we are talking about the quality of the relationship. Rushing causes us to skim the surface of things. If we take our time in bed, our intimacy will deepen. Another positive side of Slow is the restoration of communication between those areas of our lives that are severed at high speed. It is easier to achieve mutual understanding in sex when we spend more time outside the bedroom with pleasure: we eat with taste, we work with pleasure … Decreasing the speed allows us to realize that everything is interconnected and return to the big picture of life.
Prepared by Ksenia Kiseleva