An invitation lay at my bedside this morning. An invitation to play with movement – specifically it invites me to do everything slowly. I dubbed this game: Slow Play. But, what in the world does that mean? I’ll be reporting on this provocation and my response to it in coming days. I’ve been doing this now for about twelve and a half hours and this experiment seems worth a two or three week all out exploration.
Here is some of things I’ve been doing at least one or two beats slower than my usual:
- walking from here to there
- speaking
- everyday activities like washing hands
- reading
- eating
- singing
- breathing, at times
- typing this blog post
- tapping on my phone
- and more …
Here are some questions I am playing with around the speed of doing things:
- What pace is ideal?
- When is it helpful to match the pace of another as in having conversations, speaking, moving, etc.
- What does too slow mean?
- Will I sense more deeply? As in seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling, etc.
- How will it affect my perception of time?
- If I move more slowly, will I accomplish more or less?
- How will it feel in the moment and at the end of day to have lived this way?
- What will the impact be?
- How and to what extent will it affect relationships? my work?
- Will I be annoying?
Some things I have learned so far:
- If I am moving more slowly, others sometimes do as well and that can occur without saying a single word.
- I’ve found, at times, more engagement or depth to the moment.
- Music with a slow beat is helpful as a background for movement or exercise.
- Eating is a more full experience.
- I’m fast on the keyboard. But typing this blog post slower than I normally do brings my attention to what I am doing in a different way. I’ll have to see where this goes and report as the days progress. To me a keyboard is like a piano and I enjoy the rhythm.
- My handwriting is legible when written with less speed. I wonder if my thoughts may be more considered as well – we’ll see.
- This game is engaging, playful, fun to do and I love the focus it brings, and I am sure I will find some intriguing new stories.
There will be more in coming days, but as I am writing off the cuff, remember I celebrate typos and grammar errors, so I may have a bit more celebration in the days ahead!
Enjoy the stories and have a playful day,
Mary
P.S. I have not found a way to laugh more slowly.
P.P.S. I plan on posting on this little experiment over the next three weeks. Click here to read Field Notes #2
