Slow movement (culture)
The Slow Movement is a cultural shift towards slowing down life's pace. It began as a protest to the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, Rome. It proposes consciously seizing control of time rather than being dictated by it and finding a balance between using time-saving technology and taking the time to enjoy a walk or a meal with others. Proponents realize that while technology can speed up working, eating, dating, etc. the most important things in life should not be rushed.
In the past, many people had a day of relaxation because all stores were forced to close on Sunday and many people attended Church. Today, the world operates 24 hours a day, and because people can do everything all the time, they feel they have to do things all the time.
The slow movement is not organised and controlled by a singular organisation per se. A principal characteristic of the slow movement is that it is propounded, and its momentum maintained, by individuals that constitute the expanding global community of slow. Although it has existed in some form since the Industrial Revolution (see: Transcendentalists, hippies), its popularity has grown considerably since the rise of Slow Food and Cittaslow in Europe, with slow initiatives spreading as far as Australia and Japan.
Contrary to assumptions associated with the term "slow", advocates of the slow movement stress activity, rather than passivity. The focus, therefore, is on being selective in our activity, and fully appreciating how we spend our time.
The slow movement advises some ways of slowing down:
- Spread out your chores; do one load each day instead of all at once, or dust one day and vacuum the next..
- Stop watching the clock; on weekends try waking up to your body's natural rhythms rather than an alarm, and leave your watch at home
- Shop at a farmer's market
- Prepare a sit-down meal and savour it without watching TV, or reading. Enjoy the conversation if you're dining with others, or peaceful solitude if eating alone.
- On vacation slow down; don't try to cram every sight into your must-see list. Visit "slow cities" with local restaurants where you can eat slow
- Prune your to-do list; make time for the people and activities that you enjoy
The movement claims 83,000 members in 50 countries, which are organized into 800 Convivia or local chapters. Sometimes operating under a logo of a snail, the collective philosophy is to preserve and support traditional ways of life. Today, 42 states in the U.S. have their own convivium.
Readings
- Carl Honoré - In Praise Of Slow
- Change The World For A Fiver
Useful Sites
The below are some suggestions of sites demonstrating various flourishings of the slow movement.
- In Praise Of Slow - site of the book by Carl Honoré
- We Are What We Do - authors of 'Change The World For A Fiver'
- slowlondon - applying principles of slowness to city dwelling and the travails of hectic urban life
- The Long Now Foundation
- Cittaslow UK - How Slow is applied to towns in the United Kingdom
- SlowDownNow.org - The "almost" serious antidote to workaholism. Humorous slow stories and a Slow Lifestyle Manifesto by Christopher Richards. Stories include, How to Get Out of Bed - a philosophical approach, and The Importance of the British Tea Break.