Speed Up to Slow Down
By Iggy Benavente
Well, this is my first official article, seeing as how Matteo (Co-Author/Editor of OLE/Secretary of the GSA), has been the one wrting the longer pieces. I thought that I would take shot at writing something. I'm more a philosphical thinker of sorts. I look at the world through a child-like amazement and deep poetic emotion. Although my words may not be as eloquent or as well versed as most, I think I do a pretty good job at explaining what I want to say. This particular piece will be focused on how most of the world, particularly the United States, is in a never ending trend of speeding up.
Personally, I'm a pretty mellow and laid back person, being from a Pacific Island tends to follow that stereotype. People nowadays are really in a vicious cycle of speeding up. Things are moving too quickly, people sometimes will not catch up. Businesses and Industries have certain quotas and objectives they like to meet; however, the problem is that they want to do them all in a short period of time. We seem to operate on a "Time is Money" sort of perspective, and there are not enough hours in the day to get work done. I know it's a long shot, but I think people need to slow down a bit.
I mean, people work at their jobs for the majority of the day, and those very hours accumulate. Just think how much time you spend at work instead of with family, friends, or even personal time for yourself. In the Islands, we have the average 8 hour shift, but at the same time we make sure that there is time left to spend with family. Weekends, especially Sundays, are sacred, as that is personal time. Daily, things usually end around 6 and that time is with family or friends. I am currently taking a Sociology course that focuses on family, and I've taken courses that talk about the workplace, human issues, and culture. And what I have noticed is that more and more Americans are breaking away from family to work.
The problem is that everything is costly, no matter where you turn, something has to be taken care of financial wise. If people were given the option of more time, then I think things would improve. I mean, if you spend most of your time looking at walls that aren't even your own, that would really stress you out. I believe there should be steps to get people to slow down and just socialize, things are becoming rapidly impersonal, especially with the use of e-mails and cellphones. I mean...seriously, breaking up over the phone is a huge issue. I know it will be a hard process, but if we keep pushing the same routine of trying to speed up, why not try to have a routine of slowing down?
For comments, feedback, questions...please email me at [email protected]