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Slowing Down

With the fast pace of life, slowing down can feel like an impossible task. Writer and priest Malcolm Doney explores how applying the brakes even slightly can improve our wellbeing.

Writer and priest Malcolm Doney ponders how his move from a busy, city working life to the peaceful countryside has brought about a new, slower pace that鈥檚 changed many aspects of his daily life and outlook.

Malcolm explores the pitfalls of our fast, 鈥渞oadrunner鈥 culture - from not having time to nurture important relationships to our tendency to lack patience. Malcolm learns of the 鈥榮low movement鈥, an organised resistance to our culture of speed that spans several decades, driven by those producing 鈥榮low鈥 cinema, cooking and fashion. He examines the 鈥榮low art鈥 and 鈥榮low music鈥 of James Turrell, Brian Eno and Danny Hills.

Waiting, doing nothing - although going against the norms of our culture - has its virtues, given that God doesn鈥檛 work to human beings鈥 impatient timetable or on demand. So how can we best slow down and be patient, especially during life鈥檚 more chaotic and stressful moments? Malcolm takes tips from Michael Palin on finding peace, and free-diver Kimi Werner on resisting panic.

Malcolm concludes that slowing down allows us to place value on everyday moments, even small things like drinking tea, and encourages us to give slowness a go.

Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Sera Baker
A TBI production for 大象传媒 Radio 4

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 20 Aug 2023 06:05

Readings


Title: The Bright Field, Laboratories of the Spirit

Author: RS Thomas

Publisher: MacMillan

Title: In Praise of Slowness

Author: Carl Honor茅

Publisher: HarperCollins

Title: The Irreducible Needs of Children

Author: T. Berry Brazleton and Stanley Greenspan

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Title: James Turrell Interview

Author: James Turrell

Publisher: Interview Magazine

Title: The Millennium Clock

Author: Danny Hillis

Publisher: Wired

Title: The Big Here and Long Now

Author: Brian Eno

Publisher: The Long Now Foundation

Title: Brian Eno: 鈥業t鈥檚 simply not my temperament to look back鈥

Author: Brian Eno

Publisher: Independent

Title: 1 Kings 19:11-12, NIV

Publisher: Hodder Classics

Title: I am Waiting, A Coney Island of the Mind

Author: Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation

Title: 鈥50 Things to do in a Church鈥 with Michael Palin

Author: Michael Palin

Publisher: National Churches Trust

Title: The Third Body, Eating the Honey of Words

Author: Robert Bly

Publisher: HarperCollins

Today鈥檚 programme was presented by Malcolm Doney.

The producer was Sera Baker.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 13 Jan 2019 06:05
  • Sun 13 Jan 2019 23:30
  • Sun 20 Aug 2023 06:05