They Said it Thursday-Slow Down and Feel Groovy

Back again for They Said it Thursday. Today’s quotation comes from the lyrics to Simon & Garfunkel’s The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy).

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy
(from Lyricfind)

I DON’T FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED

I rooted and lucubrated on this one as I feel like far too many people are rushing through life. There are so many quotations that discuss taking life as it is and taking time to smell the proverbial “roses,” but how many actually take heed.

Think about the names of businesses as many of them promote speed not quality. Driving just a few miles, I pass the Cox Quick Lube, the Kwik Mart, other conveniences stores, a drive- through cupcake store, a drive-through coffee shop, a drive-through hibachi restaurant? and myriad fast food joints. Everyone travels “express” and books on Expedia.

I am not advocating that you lay on the couch and become a sloth. You have to live life with passion and vigor, but why must we rush through everything? I have been the victim of many a colleague, friend or family member who belong to the “hurry-up and wait,” club. I have already discussed the value of time, but speeding to a function to wait in the car, or entering a concert venue two hours before the show makes little sense to me.

Cell phones have exacerbated the eschewing of this lyric. As soon as someone is even a bit late, the cell phone is out, and the late party is being bombarded by a barrage of texts. Patience is a virtue, and there are other productive activities one can do while waiting for a ride, or waiting, in general. Talk to someone. Read a book. Contemplate your sublimity in nature. Relax.

Cell phones have created anxiety and the desire to be everywhere and anywhere except where you are. The “fear of missing out,” is real, but what are we really missing. No one can be at every event or be competent at every hobby. My students were run ragged by their extra-curriculars, and often had to be in multiple places at the same time. For what. A Jack-of-all- Trades is master of none, and also, from experience, exhausted. Strung-out, tired and tense does not seem like a good recipe for joy.

Ironically, staying in the moment sometimes means not capturing the moment. I have been to dance recitals, little league games, graduations, and every other function under the sun, and the one constant is people recording it for posterity. It is cool to have an indelible record of your life only if it does not disrupt the actual living of it. After a while, I decided not to record, because looking through a camera lens or through the viewing square of my phone, made me feel detached from the event, from the energy.

Tape and record all you want, but slowing down means making the most of the live show; it will stay in your memory, but unlike video, it will also stay in your heart.

Have you ever noticed that time moves the fastest while you are completely engaged and immersed in the moment. During my most successful classes, the bell rang without our constant scrutiny, and my students and I were disappointed about the interruption.

In a job, in life, I would rather be busy than bored, but this does not constitute rushing to a predetermined finish. It means soaking up diverse and compelling moments that combine into a feeling of satisfaction.

Isn’t that a well-lived life? If you are rushing through life, you are headed to the ultimate predetermined finish. An Italian proverb states, “At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” This adage can be interpreted in many ways, some more morose than others. My thought is that I want to play an engaging, fair, vibrant game regardless of which piece I end up being. One way of doing that is to take a breath, take a moment, pause and reflect.

Similarly, John Mellencamp once said, that “growing up means growing old and dying… and that, to me doesn’t sound like fun.” Well, it’s not. Funny how when I used to get together with my male friends, a majority of the conversation would center around dating, sex, sports, past escapades, and past sports escapades.

Now, when we get together, we certainly catch up on family, our jobs, and other topics, but invariably, the discussion comes around to ailments, medical procedures and prescription drugs. I take a couple every day, and I have trouble sleeping, trouble with my stomach (reflux) and trouble with my legs and feet. Do you see your twenty-something self discussing any of these topics?

Knowledge is power, and it is always settling and rewarding to commiserate with people in the same stage of life, but the other major issue with not slowing down, is the lack of enjoyment you get from doing anything.

In the Broadway musical Wicked, the characters espouse the philosophy of “Dancing through Life, ” but they do not dictate the tempo. Life should be tackled with optimism, rhythm and ease, not with expedience or harrowing speed. I do not drink coffee, but I implore you to take time to, “smell it.” “Slow down you move too fast.” Clearly, a hectic, distracted pace of living will not allow you to feel, “groovy.”

Love, laughter and lingering,

P.