"Slowing Down to the Speed of Life"

You may have noticed recently that these newsletters have been a bit late. If that's bothered you, I apologise.

Now you might think that the reason for my lateness is that I've been too busy.

Well, in the past, that would have undoubtedly been the case. Too much on my plate. Too many deadlines to meet. Never enough time. Other priorities. You know the score.

However, over the last couple of weeks, I've been practising a new approach to work. It's called "slowing down to the speed of life".

It all started with me reading a news article about why Finland is the top country in the world for science education. Apparently the reason is two-fold. First, Finland employs only well-skilled teachers. And secondly, they slow down to the pace of their students. Unlike other Western countries that focus on deadlines and targets, the Finnish focus on the rate at which their students pick things up. And, as we know, no two people learn at the same pace. So they go at the rate of the slowest.

Doing things quickly is one of the sad symptoms of our global, anonymous, work-filled lives.

I recently heard about a man standing in a metro station in Washington DC playing the violin. It was a cold January morning and people were hurrying as usual to their places of work.

The man played six Bach pieces for 45 minutes. In all that time, only 6 people stopped to listen. The longest was a child of 3 who was quickly rescued by his mother to re-join the rushing stream.

At the end of the 45 minutes, the man had collected $32. He stopped playing, packed away his violin, and left the concourse without anyone knowing.

That man was Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated violinists in the world. Two days earlier, he had sold out a concert hall in Boston with seats costing an average of $100 each.

If you're like I was, and find yourself caught up in the maelstrom of everyday working life, why not introduce a few minutes each day when you slow down to the speed of life? Just take your time. Tune in to the pace of things, not people. Saunter and relish each passing moment.

If you do, you might then catch a world-class musician playing for you personally. Or learn more Finnish science. Or get a newsletter finished on time.