The Sacred Art of Slowing Down
Why (and how) to take it slow...
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
-Gandalf
Think of your favorite characters from literature and film: Aragorn, Don Vito, Indiana Jones, James Bond, etc. Think of the men you admire most, the swaggering heroes and wise leaders who drive the plot and save the day.
Now, ask yourself a simple question: how often do they rush?
I don’t mean “rush” in the sense of rushing into battle or moving swiftly when the occasion calls for it. What I mean is, how often do they rush through their day-to-day lives?
Do you ever see them speeding through traffic because they’re late for a meeting? Replying to work emails at lunch? Hunched over a table with a protein bar in hand, wolfing it down while replying to a flurry of text messages and checking their notifications?
There’s a reason you never see your favorite characters depicted in such a manner. Simply put, heroes don’t rush. They move with intention and purpose, having structured their lives in such a way that renders hurry completely unnecessary. Their lack of rush reflects their discipline and self-mastery, and is an absolute prerequisite for becoming a hero.
I’ve been thinking about the sacred — and I don’t use that word lightly — art of slowing down for quite a while now. Back in July, I wrote that “the best indicator of success in life is how rarely you rush”, and have become increasingly convinced of that in the months since.
Today then, in this first installment of The Elements of Elegance, we look at what rushing does to both your body and soul, why the art of slowing down is indeed sacred, and the best ways for you to start easing off the metaphorical gas.
If you want to live your life as art, or with any degree of elegance, you can’t afford to ignore this…
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The Physiological Stakes
Recently, a video went viral on X depicting a woman doing normal, everyday activities such as washing her hair, putting on makeup, and walking in the park. She began each activity at “normal” speed, before consciously slowing down to a much more human pace.
The video got over 33 million views, and with good reason: the way the woman began each activity is essentially the default setting for all of us these days. The caption, “when you realise that going slow is the secret to a regulated nervous system”, captures a simple truth that far too many people today overlook.
The fact of the matter is, speed is a stress signal that tells your body you’re in danger. This plays out repeatedly in the scientific literature. Take, for example, the fact that you remember more of what you study following aerobic activity. The reason why is that your body assumes that when you run, it’s because you’re in danger. As a result, it sharpens your focus to become more attentive to your surroundings, both for safety in the moment, and to eventually remember your way home.
But while short-term stress is typically healthy for the body, long-term, chronic amounts of stress are not. The speed at which most people are used to operating in the modern world is unhealthy and unsustainable, and as a result many live with their nervous systems paralyzed in a constant state of danger.
But what does any of this have to do with elegance? The answer is surprisingly simple: elegance can not originate from a position of fear. The word elegance itself derives from the latin verb ēligere, meaning “to select with care”. Being able to truly choose — ie., having quality options to choose from — implies that you’re in a relative position of strength. A life lived in fear is incompatible with such a position, and thus incompatible with elegance.
But if this is how rushing impacts your body, how does it impact your soul? And what can you do to start slowing down and living with elegance in your day-to-day?
Fortunately, the answer is surprisingly simple…
