We are the strivingest people who have ever lived. We are ambitious, time-starved, competitive, distracted. We move at full velocity, yet constantly fear we are not doing enough. Though we live longer than any humans before us, our lives feel shorter, restless, breathless…Dear ones, EASE UP. Pump the brakes. Take a step back. Seriously. Take two steps back. – Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of Eat, Pray, Love
There are people who like to rush just for the feel of it. They call the rushing productivity. Even if they are not producing anything except a breeze. And a breeze is not a wind so it can’t even power my little hand-held fan. It’s hot useless distracting air. Such people make me sweat. Yes, I mean that literally. Even in the winter. Sometimes I get whirled into their frenzy and my heart starts to thump as if it were going to beat out time itself.
But, I feel that rushing is not the same as progress. Rushing is just flushing my energy down the drain. Where am I going?
All the progress is in the direction. No matter how slow I go, if I’m going in the right direction, I’ll get there. But if I’m galloping at break-neck speed for the sport of seeming productive, I’ll probably just break my neck…
The obvious result of a permanent state of rushing is burn-out. Burnout has become such a hot topic in society that it has become a universal term. Le burn-out, I read in the French magazine, Psychologies. In Spain, you can actually talk to your therapist about el síndrome del burn-out. I have a long playlist I use to slow down and lull my mind into quietude. Here are some of my favorites:
Hang on Little Tomato by Pink Martini
Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor
Drifting by Sarah McLachlan
Be Ok (Acoustic) by Ingrid Michaelson
You Belong to Me by Carla Bruni
Shoot the Moon by Norah Jones
Narrow Daylight by Diana Krall
Home by Michael Bublé
Asignatura Pendiente (MTV Unplugged) by Ricky Martin
Color Esperanza by Diego Torres
I Don’t Really Want to Know by Marlango
This End of the Telescope by Jakob Dylan
What do you guys do to slow down? Any great tunes that set the mood for chill-out? Shout them out in the Comments below!
2 comments
Cristina says:
Aug 30, 2011
I come to oisercage.com. After today, I’ll be listening to this list too :)
Marie says:
Sep 11, 2011
My job keeps asking me to rush more so I don’t put in any overtime. This request has been strectching the muscles of my heart even further considering That I am always in a rush. I think after reading this piece this morning, I am going to make I DON’T REALLY WANT TO KNOW, by Marlango my best friend. My personal way to slow down is to dream about something I want to do. Now, My dream is an old one that rersurfaced sometime this year; it is about a little house in the country where windows and doors are opend all day and colorful curtains bring the cool air in and take the hot air out. My advice to those who can’t slow down, take a few minutes from your busy schedule to dream.