Summary

(02:45) Carl’s ‘aha moment’ with slowing down

• He was reading bedtime stories to his son, and would skim read and skip pages to finish the book quicker ‘ and his son noticed this and wanted Carl to slow down and read the book properly

• A lot of us get stuck in ‘fast-forward’

• If he didn’t have this moment with the bedtime story, it would have been with something else more disruptive down the line

(07:56) At what age do we start to ‘speed up’?

• We live in such a strong culture of speed that children can pick up on this pace from a young age

• Carl’s son’s first phrase was ‘hurry up’

(09:02) The stigma around slowing down

• Even after a post-covid world, there is still a positive association with ‘being busy’

• It’s instinctive that we are aware of our own mortality, therefore time is finite

• When we start measuring time with clocks in the Medieval times, people began to be more tied to schedules

• ‘Time is money’ was coined by Benjamin Franklin over 200 years ago

• ‘Man measures time, and time measures man’ ‘ Italian proverb

• The Industrial Age brought in speed to society

• We have linked time, speed and productivity with wealth

(13:35) How to disentangle ourselves from speed culture

• ‘Slow down slowly’

• Be aware of slow-washing

• Slow is an incremental process ‘ it takes time to shift gears and experiment

(17:33) Can we learn from other cultures about slowing down?

• Being fast is not a Western affliction ‘ it’s a modern late-capitalism malady

• We can learn from southern Europeans with their slow pace, from food, siestas to socializing

• Nature and its rhythms is the ultimate ally for the slow movement, so learn to live in symphony with nature

(22:14) The benefits of slowing down

• ‘How can I experience this moment, not as fast as possible, but as well as possible?’

• Slowing down boosts your physical and mental health

• You cannot speed up social connections and relationships

• There is a strong link between slowness and creativity

(27:59) The pace of the Slow Movement Revolution

• It’s still going at a slow pace

• People often enter the Slow Movement for more specific, personal reasons such as health or work, but as they slow down they start to grapple with bigger questions ‘ and become agents of a wider change

(32:41) The gaps formed from slowing down

• Culturally we are afraid of liminal space, and we move on to the next big thing after another

• We need pause points ‘ moments that can’t be mapped out or timed, but simply be allowed to unfurl

(39:16) Are there signs that the world is slowing down?

• Technology is helping to facilitate slowing down, through screen time, meditation, etc.

• The pandemic gave people enough time to change habits

(43:49) The difference between mindfulness and the slow movement

• There is a big overlap between mindfulness and slowness

• Mindfulness is a great way to ease into the slow movement

(46:22) Minimalism

• Slowing down means you focus more on what matters, which inevitably leads to streamlining and pruning what you really need in life

• ‘The fast life is superficial’

• We are a very status-conscious species

• Consumption and consumerism is often a mechanism of denial or running away from what is important

• ‘It’s the small, slow moments which we remember the most’

(52:36) Is slowing down a privilege?

• ‘Everything is easier with money’

• ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together’ ‘ African proverb

• Slowing down is not just about being a better individual, but a better citizen for society

(56:18) The addiction to quick fixes

• There is a dopamine rush from doing shortcuts and we have a cultural push to do things faster

(59:38) Ageism in society

• The older you get, the more invisible you get

• Old age is often perceived negatively, but there are plenty of things that get better through age

• We need to change the visual landscape of age in the media