In Praise of Slowness

March 8, 2004
A former "speedaholic," an award-winning Canadian journalist advocates living a slower, more measured existence, in virtually every area, a philosophy he defines as "balance." Honoré's personal wake-up call came when he began reading one-minute bedtime stories to his two-year-old son in order to save time. The absurdity of this practice dramatized how he, like most of the world, was caught up in a speed culture that probably began with the Industrial Revolution, was spurred by urbanization and increased dramatically with 20th-century advances in technology. The author explores, in convincing and skillful prose, a quiet revolution known as "the slow movement," which is attempting to integrate the advances of the information age into a lifestyle that is marked by an "inner slowness" that gives more depth to relationships with others and with oneself. Although there is no official movement, Honoré credits Carol Petrini, an Italian culinary writer and founder of the slow food movement in Italy, with spearheading the trend to using fresh local foods, grown with sustainable farming techniques that are consumed in a leisurely manner with good company. The author also explores other slow movements, such as the practice of Tantric sex (mindful sexual union as a road to enlightenment), complementary and alternative medicine, new urbanism and the importance of leisure activities like knitting, painting and music. For the overprogrammed and stressed, slow and steady may win the race.

May 1, 2013

Journalist and best-selling author Honore advances his advocacy outlined in his slow-movement paradigm In Praise of Slowness as he examines how complex problems are best solved, this time with an emphasis on practicing patience. He argues that humans are natural problem solvers and are inclined to act quickly, to avoid danger, and to meet their immediate needs. Society's addiction to instant gratification encourages and rewards these instincts, but, he maintains, quick actions don't solve long-standing and multifaceted dilemmas. Honore investigates how institutional and societal problems can benefit from applying the principles he identifies as elements of the "slow fix." Covering situations from failing schools in Los Angeles and the prison system in Norway to the crime-ridden city of Bogota, Colombia, and the coffee farms of Costa Rica, he proposes the ingredients for long-term solutions. VERDICT Readers wishing for a problem-solving formula won't find it here. Instead, Honore's challenge is to slow down, analyze, assess, and explore how others have turned around failing organizations and systems with lasting results.--Carol Elsen, Univ. of Wisconsin, Whitewater Libs.

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