flaneur, the art of sauntering, of taking one's time.
in a world where you can be run off the road by seventeen SUV's the size of the yukon territory in the span of a 7-minute commute, let's bring back the traipse.
it's not just for us intuitive types, the 15-20% of the population of highly sensitive people who are deeply attuned to the invisible pulse of things. it's for everyone. and especially for the 80-85% of the population driving to be ever-more "powerful, efficient, and productive".
i put these in quotes because personally, i am much more truly powerful, efficient and productive when i get quiet, calm, and slow. and i enjoy life more.
when i turn off the notifications and dial into noticing, my 5 senses thank me.
and i have to fight for it, rather. instead of instant messaging the office next to mine, i pop over for a quick in-person hello even when doing so means i may be a bit slower to tackle the 19 tabs on two screens that i know are waiting for me. i set an alarm for my mid-day break and take a walk around the block.
at least once a week i knead bread with my hands, arrange flowers in my great-grandma's vase, write letters, walk to the mailbox, and hand-feed treats to my chickens. i pulled up a stump by my flowers and bird feeder to just sit in the sun and hold a cup of coffee. no one on instagram needs to know i'm doing this and it won't help me enjoy it any more if they do.
we have apps to helps us manage not checking our apps, which i think is silly. just have less apps! or, if we do need them, as i do for work, turn the notifications off when you're at dinner with other people if at all possible.
it seems to me we are not getting happier by going faster. when the world shut down, we re-evaluated; now it seems we are going twice as fast as we were before, trying to make up for lost time perhaps or driven to control things from when we were so desperately out of control? i don't know.
all i know is i never regret it when i take time for lighting a firepit under the stars, telling stories, reading poetry out loud from a book, or stopping to chat with neighbors.
it's kind of like the difference between cheap depleted topsoil vs. rich nutrient dense loam. which one do we want our lives to be? the latter takes a lot of intention and cultivation but is actually simple, though it does take time.
as a dear friend reminded me, it's the micro-actions that often make the biggest difference. we don't always have to become a best-selling author or sought-after speaker to make an impact (although those are wonderful arenas for those called to them). speaking kindly to a cashier, talking sincerely with a child, leaving a bouquet on someone's doorstep and other small gestures can be a huge deal to someone else.
i'm going to endeavor to be a turtle-walker in the rat race. join me?
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