Sometimes I find myself looking out the window, watching birds and insects in the garden outside my window, and before you know it 20 minutes has passed.
While gazing out at the world, I found myself thinking about long-time Hivean 
I bring it up because of the interesting juxtaposition of someone who — like many people in this world — was a perpetual "Energizer Bunny" but now wanted to slow down... and the way I have pretty much always been living in the slow lane.
In this fast paced world, we are often advised to slow down, but I feel like I was born in slow motion... and nothing ever changed. If I slowed down any more, I'd likely turn to stone!
I was a slow kid... to the point where my parents wondered whether I was somehow disabled... but I just moved slowly, thought slowly, ate slowly, even responded slowly. I was "tested" by various child psychologists and there was really nothing "wrong" with me... in fact, many aspects of the testing indicated that I was over in the area with the "gifted overachievers." Except... I didn't move at 300 miles an hour, like they did.
My primary challenge on timed tests was always time. You could say that I often got "80% of the test 100% right." I just didn't have time for the last 20%.
Ironically, I was a fairly accomplished distance runner in high school and college. On the whole, though, I was mostly involved in "slow" activities... and was very good at them. Including coming within a whisker of going on the pro golf tour in Europe, when I was about 20.
I ended up starting this post after reading an article in which people were talking about the various things in their lives — in their fundamental way of being — they felt had somehow "held them back" from accomplishing what they wanted with their lives.
It made me pause to consider the many times "too slow" had been one of my "obstacles," particularly in work situations.
Truth is, I enjoy slower movement, rather than being more "frenetic." I loathe feeling rushed, overly busy, and under time pressure.
I'm not really going to get into whether or not "moving slowly" is good, bad or indifferent... however, I think our modern society instills a sense of urgency in everything, creating a certain degree of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) if we're not constantly doing everything, all the time.
Consequently, I think a lot of people who would naturally feel inclined to live their lives at a slower pace feel themselves driven to fill their worlds with hectic activity. And I don't really think that's healthy for anyone!
When I was a kid, I remember such a simple thing as dinner often taking a full hour to an hour and a half. Nowadays, many people try to jam a main course and a desert down their gullets in 15-30 minutes so they can "get back to" whatever it was they were doing before. Even if that "something" is just watching back-to-back episodes of a favorite show they recorded.
These days, the challenge isn't so much the actual slow movement, as it is keeping my head above water and being OK with simply moving a lot lower than the rest of the world.
And I really don't think I am missing anything important!
Thanks for reading, and have a great week ahead!
How about YOU? Have any specific personality or genetic traits that feel "different" from the rest of the world? Have you mostly stuck to your own way? Or have you tried to conform to external expectations and norms? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
Proud member of the Silver Bloggers Community on Hive!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT cross posted anywhere else!)
Created at 20220627 00:30 PDT
0597/1843