Slow is not Wrong
To me, I’m fast.
I can usually do things quickly and well-enough.
I can think fast (most of the time); talk fast; walk fast.
In fact, when I was 26 weeks pregnant in my Aqua-Mom class, I water-walked so fast, I could have won a trophy. (It was only later that I realized the other ladies were not in a race. They were enjoying the relaxation, the socialization, the peace and quiet. Oops. Sorry for the wake!)
So, surround me by a culture that prizes FAST, and you’ll understand why, somewhere in my subconscious, I’ve assumed people who are SLOW are wrong.
Really. Morally wrong. My confession is that I have subconsciously assumed – once or twice – that if someone is slower than me, she is morally wrong. (Terrible, I know.)
As if she is making a deliberate choice to drag her feet, pause, and produce less stuff.
It’s only recently that I’ve acknowledged that SLOW – in and of itself – is not wrong.
In fact, SLOW is not a moral issue at all. (Of course, in other contexts it is. Being slow-to-obey is wrong. Being slow-to-anger is right. But, for right now, I’m just talking about the tempo of a person’s life.)
In fact, compared to you or Apollo Ohno, even I might be SLOW.
Think about how this plays out in the business world:
The standard of virtue in most offices is set by the guy who works the fastest, thinks the fastest, and produces so much stuff in one week’s time, that he proves you right: he never sleeps. For his company, Fast Worker is the standard of success. He is the “A+”. Unintentionally of course, every other worker is expected to perform at his level. The further they are from his pace, the lower their grade-point-average; the more vulnerable their job security; and the more frustrating they are to the faster workers.
But the secret is that Fast Worker is just fast, that’s all. He was created to be fast. He worked on FAST his whole life, so he’s really good at it now. He got prizes! prizes! prizes! for being fast because everyone from his soccer coach to his typing teacher liked his speedy ways. Of course, there’s always someone faster who is ready to tip the scales. And there are always millions of someones slower who are overlooked by an inaccurate assessment of excellence.
Other people are simply not as fast. They are, dare I say, created to be slower. They have been slow their whole life and are really good at it now. They never got prizes, until they discovered the few golden opportunities in life that allow for slow and steady work – like life-long hobbies, friendships, and woodworking. They’re just as intelligent, and just as valuable. While the fast workers are busy whizzing by, snapping fingers at the slackers, the slow workers learn the value of patience, of doing something right the first time, of sticking around to get to the bottom of something, and of seeing something through to the end.
How does it affect a classroom?
How does it affect a church?
How does it affect a family?
Today, take a deep breath and hug someone slow.
(Who knows? You might just choose to hug me!)
March 8th, 2010 at 6:11 am
Hug hug hug!
I’m slow. Reeeeeeeeeeeally slow. You wouldn’t know it by my blog (I think?), I drive Jesse crazy with my sloooooooooowness.
I’d like my slow to be a better, more thorough slow…then maybe it would be a virtue!
March 8th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Oh, heck, I’ll give you a hug! (A slow one, of course)
I’m probably a little in the middle. It takes me a bit to get up to my pace, but then I move along at a pretty quick clip. My two year old makes ME look like I’m standing STILL!
My seven year old has newly discovered sensory integration issues. They’ve always been with him, bless his heart, and they make him move at a snail’s pace. In the past, I’ve had a hard time being patient with him… but I’m learning to appreciate his molasses-in-January approach to life.
You’re right. Sometimes slow isn’t wrong. Sometimes, slow is just… well, slow.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
The only time I cannot tolerate slow is when it makes people late.
I.Hate.Late.
Late is wrong.
Right?
March 9th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Lots to ponder! I often think about the ol’ Hare and Tortoise Fable.
The Hare was beset by the hoppy, flitty way God made him, he couldn’t be tortoisey if he wanted to. On the other hand, the tortoise couln’t speed up if he wanted to…God gave him a big shell, and short legs…To tortoise’s credit, he kept going (what else did he have to do?) and to the hare’s discredit, he boasted. The tortoise outsmarted the hare…but maybe he had other issues…like smugness. Out of the heart are the issues of life
March 9th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
My little Austin is S……….L…………….O…………….W at almost everything. He was even 6 days late entering this wonderful world. However, he draws with impeccable detail and looks in my eyes as though I am the only one in the world that exists when we have out lovely moments together. I love these slow moments.
I do not like it that it takes him almost 7 minutes to tie his shoes. LATE.
So, I’ve adjusted his schedule, around the tying of his shoes.
I’m just helping him prioritize and rearrange. This helps him be triumphant at being on time, not pokey behind his other siblings, and even gets a quick pinch on the hiney when he’s ahead of schedule. Cute little bugger.
I have found as a mother—that when my children are particularly slow….it is usually because of an “I don’t know how.”
I have found this true of myself….I am slow, when I do not know ‘how.’ I get stuck…and procrastinate, put it off, and ignore it. Whatever it is….I push it out of my mind.
It is friends like you, my dear—that show me ‘how’. And I love you for it.
I also love ‘LOVE in detail’…it requires some amount slowness and patience.
May 28th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
slow – oh yeah – that’s me! it a physical thing – disability that means I cannot run, jump or even walk apace with most anyone – except very young toddlers and very senior folk.
I get to smell the roses, learn to live with a lot more clutter than I would prefer, see a situation developing down the road, plan carefully to conserve energy, and learn to ask for help.
All those fast folk … they usually don’t mind coming to my aid, gives them a chance to show off their speed and strength!
And once in a while they join me at my pace and we look around together slowly seeing, hearing and appreciating God’s world.