SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
Where is all this hurry taking us? Why are we hurtling at such break neck speed? It’s time to remind everyone to slow down and enjoy the happiness
Truly has it been said that modern man is so busy earning a living that he has no time left to live!
Fast, faster, fastest! We want everything instantly. We have fast food, fast cars, instant messaging, lightning trunk-calls, non-stop flights, speed dialing – and short cuts for everything. We beat the red signal at traffic lights; we overtake others at great risk to ourselves; we simply cannot bear to wait!
Where is all this hurry taking us? Why are we hurtling at such a breakneck speed? I must remind you of one of the golden, old proverbs which characterised life in the good old days: Slow and steady wins the race.
I wonder how many of you believe in its efficacy, wisdom and sound sense!
A Victorian poet talks about life in the preindustrial age, which “ran gaily, like the sparkling Thames.” Poets have always compared the passage of life to the flow of the river – gently, steadily, tirelessly, the stream flows on and on.
You only have to think of rivers today to realise that the metaphor will not hold good any longer! Our rivers no longer run clear and steady. They are muddied, polluted, poisoned by chemicals and industrial effluents. Often they are in spate, overflowing their banks, causing enormous tragedies with loss of numerous lives and damage to property. Fast, faster, fastest – we are hurtling through life at a breakneck speed. Our favourite ‘rides’ are roller coasters on which people pay money to climb – and then scream in fear as they are hurtled through loops and falls and steep drops! What are we looking for? What do we hope to find in such breathtaking pastimes?
Slow and steady – this was the pace of life, even fifty years ago – and this was how men and women, old and young lived their lives. The speed of ‘instant’ modes has entered our lives too, and we pay the price with stress, tension, neurosis and unheard of physical ailments. Experts say human nerves are unable to withstand the stress and strain associated with modern life.
Rush, rush, rush! Executives are jet setting across the globe.
Go, go, go! Tiny tots in primary schools go for swimming lessons before school, tennis practice after and computer classes in the late evening …
Hurry, hurry, hurry! Mothers are virtually on roller skates, dropping children at school, going off to work themselves, attending meetings, calling on doctors and bankers and plumbers and electricians, attending to household chores and managing servants...
We did everything in a leisurely manner those days! We walked to the school, to the park and to the library. We spent hours pouring over books! We played long, leisurely games, indoors and outdoors. We prayed together, laughed and talked together, as extended families. Uncles and aunts visited us – and were our honoured and cherished guests.
You will not believe me when I say this – we had time for everything those days! We had time for people; we had time to listen to others; we had time to devote to meaningful activities and time for relaxing and hobbies. And yet, we had the same 24 hours per day as you have now!
The Buddha identified desire as the main cause of human suffering. However, he also taught us that this suffering could be ended by what he called Right Living. The essence of this is what the Buddhists call the Middle Way – i.e., avoiding extremes.
The ancient philosopher, Plotinus, advises us thus:
“Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself beautiful as yet, do as does the creator of the statue that is to be made beautiful: he cuts away here, he smooths there, he makes this line lighter, this other purer, until the face of the statue becomes beautiful. So do you also! Cut away all that is excessive; straighten all that is crooked; bring light to all that is shadowed; labour to make all glow with beauty, and do not cease chiselling on your statue, until there shall shine on you the splendour of virtue!”