When the World speeds up, SLOW DOWN is a piece to a Native prophecy I heard when I was young, maybe a pre-teen or early teen. At first I wasn't sure what it meant, how does the World speed up? Then I started to think about history, the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest have only had to begin to work with European-Americans since Lewis & Clark came to explore our world, 1804-1806, just over 200 years ago. Anatomically human life began about 200,000 years ago. So in the last 200 years versus the last 199, 800 years life has moved in Warp Speed.
In our country, our world is speeding up in many ways. One way for me to measure how crazy (not a very scientific term) life is I look at my 12 year old daughter and how life has changed since I was 12. Now I am quite old school. No PG-13 movies. No boyfriends (I was boy crazy at her age, and I hope she can avoid that). No make up. No body revealing clothes. She's asking to watch or read Twilight cause "everyone at my school" has already seen it. My principle here is I am not everyone's mother. Their parents parent them and I parent you. I also explained the Twilight saga is all about Romance. I enjoyed it as an adult. She is 12 years old. She is no where near dating. Now life should be about passions of life, art, science, dance, swimming, exploring and service to the community.
I don't watch much kid tv. But what I've seen of Miley Cyrus's show and icarly, there is way too much about romance and dating. Why in the heck do pre-teens need so much storyline about Romance? We have a whole wide world full of fascinating subjects to explore and discover? There are sports and being active, science and exploration, arts like filmmaking, singing, musical instruments, and dance. There is service to people in our community who need assistance, elders, sick people, people who deal with poverty.
It's my spiritual value that dating is to get to know another's character for the purpose of marriage. Well, at 12 marriage is far, far away. And dating can healthily start later. When she knows who she is, and what kind of partner she should be looking for. I learned a lesson from each relationship that I value. And I'm grateful to the young men who have been a part of my life. My only regret is that I started so young. Yes, it was quite innocent at 12, but truly I was obsessed! Chuckles.
If you look at our media that is the best way to see how fast our world has sped up. News and entertainment is constantly moving. Go go go, seems to to be a major theme of our life. Everyone complains of not having enough time to enjoy the finer things in life. Our country is ALL about work, well in the average American's life. We don't have time to rest. We have the least vacation time of the developed countries. Europeans take MONTH long holidays! What a weird concept for us to grasp. Just constant exposure to media makes our tempo increase. Do you remember enjoying Saturday morning cartoons and the after-school specials? Now our kids have Disney channel 24 hours a day and more than one! No wonder our country struggles with obesity, our kids don't go outside to play with the neighbors anymore. Chuckles.
If you live in a rural area, or a small town, it's easy to recognize the faster pace of the City. You just feel like you have to do more. Fill up your day. Keep doing something. When you get back home, you feel relieved that you can slow down again.
So how do we slow down in a Warp Speed culture? For me I choose not to have commercial tv in my home. We watch movies and tv on Netflix and Amazon Prime now. The lack of commercials selling us things we don't need is a luxury. Now that I don't see the gorgeous 30 second shorts convincing me someday I want a Mercedes or a Volvo, I am perfectly content with my Honda Accord 2007. And my bumper is still cracked cause I used the insurance money to put it on a barge to Washington. Chuckles.
I am not constantly exposed that beauty means European stick figures. I'm a brown Indipina woman and I rarely see Asians or Natives portrayed in any media. As a dear friend pointed out Hollywood is all about Barbie, African Barbie, Latino Barbie, East Indian Barbie. I love any movie where the majority of the cast is non-European descent. Bend it Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, the Color Purple, Boyz N the Hood, the Debut (a film with Filipino Americans).
One of the biggest myths of a Fast Culture is we should be more successful and accomplished at our age. 39/40 and we should be independently wealthy by now right? An established career. Homeownership. A retirement fund. I am a stay at home Mom by profession. I gave up my home in divorce. And we used all our retirement to fund his education. I struggle to balance my budget each month. Chuckles. But I have chosen to look at it from another perspective. I live in a peaceful home, that I rent. I am an amazing mother. I am still studying for another profession. And the Creator will have to assist me in that retirement fund!
I slow down each day. By taking time to take care of myself. My goal is to have a peaceful and sustainable life. I lived crazy for too many years. I sleep at least 7 hours. I pray each morning. I schedule activities that bring joy to my life. There are some things I cannot control, there are minimum requirements to the care and nurturing of children. But I pace myself each day and rest.
A Pace of Grace that is how I slow down....
Challenge: are you feeling like there isn't enough time in your day? Re-prioritize. Decide on one thing that makes you feel happy, jumpstarts your heart, and start your day with that. Do that for a week and see how you feel!
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