I hate slow people! Having said that, I'm trying to take things slow in various aspects of my life. Sounds contradictory? Well it isn't because I'm talking about a different kind of slow. A few months ago, I bought a book that I knew I needed to read because it's part of the changing process I'm going through. The book I'm talking about is called: "In praise of slow" by Carl Honore. From the first pages I realised I have been 'suffering' from this condition known as 'time sickness'. According to this physician who coined the term it is 'the obsessive belief that time is getting away, that there isn't enough of it and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up'. It is so true of what I'm feeling... I learnt to move very fast by living in New York for 10 years and I managed to bring this here to Athens. It's a big city after all and I adjusted just fine to its rhythm. And yet, what frustrates me about living here is that this country seems to be moving very slow in some ways that I do not consider good that affect my everyday life, like for buraucracy for example.


The point is though, that people who live in big cities try to cram as many things as possible in their daily schedule. I am a poster child for this condition. I can't do just one thing at a time unless it's watching a film, without feeling restless. I feel I'm missing something and that I'm not living life to its fullest. But in reality, if I;m reading something and I have the TV on, I'm not really concentrated and a few minutes later I have forgotten what I have read. So, what's the point?


Fast cars, fast internet, fast food, quick love affairs, fast sex. This is what our society has come to. That's why people get killed, that's why they become obese and that's why we have such a high divorce rating. In the end we are a bunch of exhausted, highly unsatisfied individuals.


So, as I'm reading that book and I realize I am a victim of speed, I vow to change my pace. My major new year's resolution would be to enjoy everything as much as I can without worrying about what's next and what I may be missing...


Check out: www.inpraiseofslow.com