In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore

In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore is a discussion on time, food, economics, food, globalisation, food, urban life, food, speeding, food, medicine, food, relationships, food, parenting and food!

"The Slow movement is not just about doing everything at a snail's pace....On the contrary, the movement is made up of people like you and me, people who want to live better in a fast paced, modern world. That is why the Slow philosophy can be summed up in a single word: balance. Be fast when it makes sense to be fast, and be slow when it is called for."

Carlo Petrini "Being Slow means that you control the rhythms of your own life. You decide how fast you go in any given context....What we are fighting for is the right to determine our own tempos."

I first came across this book about 10 years ago. It coincided with an interest in feeding myself better and taking care of my health as I got older. I was also searching for a better work/life balance. When a dear friend died suddenly from a rampant illness I knew it was time to make some changes...before it was too late.

"In our haste, we feed ourselves badly, and suffer the consequences." When I read this, I knew I had found something that made sense for me and so began my love affair with food and cooking. As the love affair has deepened, I've become more and more concerned with shopping, gardening and eating ethically and seasonally.

Over the years, this love affair has waxed and waned. Always the waning has occurred during times of out-of-control busyness and speed. And each time it has taken an illness or a death to make me slow down to smell the roses again.

In part, this blog is a way to try a keep the slow principle closer to the front of my mind, to make it a more permanent part of my life, so that I don't lose sight of it again.

One of the questions that is asked in the book is "does this improve our quality of life?" I try to keep this in mind when I get fired up about a new idea or a new way of doing things.

"There is more to life than increasing its speed" Gandhi