The Race Pace of the Culture

Sometimes I shake my head at the pace of the culture, particularly as I watch myself, my clients and my friends having moments of deep grief about the pace of life, the technological disconnects, the consumer economy, the go, go, go, do, do do pace that is wreaking havoc for so many peoples wellbeing.

 

This quote from the Dalai Lama was posted on Facebook recently and really says it all for me.

When asked what surprised him most about humanity he answered, “Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health, and then he is so anxious about the future he doesn’t enjoy the present: the result being he doesn’t live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies never really having lived”.

We are in the middle of a train wreck. Our bodies are breaking down, relationships breaking down, emotions breaking down, and employment breaking down. The cultural model doesn’t seem to be able to sustain itself. I imagine we’ll hang on for awhile; fear seems to create a contraction instead of an expansion for most human beings and creativity and change don’t often rise when we are contracted.

Are you interested and ready to explore how to do life differently? Would you like to be more easeful, joyful and connected to life? If so, CALL ME and we can have a chat about that. 541-389-0831.

I used to think that we just needed to learn to step off the cultural train more often. If the train had many more stops–places to simply sit, breath, notice beauty, maybe walk a little in nature, stretch, read listen to something inspiring, take naps, smile laugh or (as Kurt Vonnegut put it so aptly in A Man Without A Country) just fart around– we could learn to thrive in a still-busy world.

I am not so sure about that anymore. I am beginning to sense we need a new paradigm; we need to live on a new track. We need individuals like you and I to step off the train and carve out a new way to live. We could look at consuming less and connecting more, at spending more time in the simple moments of cooking whole food, resting in a hammock, sitting in the woods, tending a garden, playing children’s games, giving freely to others, reading inspiring literature, or making time for whatever your heart is longing for.

Years ago I read a book called My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. In this book he talks about the possibility of a world in which differences are embraced and accepted: a world in which everyone who wanted a fast-paced life could live in NYC while people that wanted to read poetry, take naps and grow gardens could live somewhere else. I am wondering if the reason so many people are struggling in our society is that we haven’t made room for other ways of living and being.

I do believe we need to look deeply at where the cultural train has been taking us.

• Where is all the consuming, overdoing, and over-thinking taking you?
• Are you joyful in this life?
• Is there more love in the world?
• Are you taking care of our elders and your children in life-giving ways?
• What are the gifts of technology and what are the challenges?

I recently saw a documentary at the Bend Film Festival called This Way of Life which tells the story of a New Zealand family that lives off the land. My favorite line in the whole film comes in the first couple of minutes. In response to the question “What do you do for a living?” He says, “I LIVE”. What a novel idea in this day and age.

What kind of train track are you interested in exploring so that you can put more living into your life?

Blessings,

Carol

Call me for a brief chat to see if coaching would be a good fit for you!  541-389-08731  or email carol@intobalancecoaching.com

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