Hey All,
Does it feel like speaker season to anyone else and don't you love it?! I am so happy because there seems to be so many options these next few weeks for hearing different authors, scientists, community educators, and other intellects speak! And I think, as tuition-paying students, it is worth taking a few hours out of the week to surround ourselves with fresh/new/different information and ideas that these scholars have come to campus to share with us. It is a nice break to the generous amounts of homework that most of us are experiencing at this point in the quarter. I told my roommates last night that I consider these opportunities "academic pick-me-ups".
Last night, a few roommates, friends and I attended Cecile Andrew's talk on the importance and cruciality of simplifying and slowing down your life. I wasn't sure quite what to expect going into it, but I know that I walked out with a totally refreshing outlook on life. The thing is, there was no rocket science involved....it was almost too simple, this idea of simplicity. (Ironic, I know.) We found it to be particularly entertaining when she invited us to make fun of how ridiculously hectic our daily lives are. For example, multi-tasking that consists of eating breakfast while finishing homework while riding the bus to school.) Her main point then, was that it is not how ridiculously hectic our lives are, but how ridiculously hectic we MAKE our lives. When really- believe this or not- we are in control of our own lives! Simple concept, but complex to think about changing, right? Cecile said that if we want to lead happier/healthier lives, then it is up to us to make very slight adjustments to our daily activity.
The ways that she proposed included:
*Take time for leisure, where you literally sit and either do nothing, read a book of choice, slowly talk to a friend, garden, watch the outdoors, think, feel.
*Start talking to people! Cecile said that talking is that missing "ingredient" for the American "recipe for Democracy". Her ideas for this included: Elevator Ambush (bringing up current world affairs in the elevator), Grocery Line Activism (stop trying to find the shortest line and just start talking to someone while you wait- it won't kill you), Cell Phone Subversion, and Cafe Conversion.
*Quit rushing! Literally, leave as early as you need to to walk sllloooooowwwllllyyyy, to wherever it is that you are going.
*Take naps.
*Concentrate on your breathing and don't hold your breath.
*Maintain a better sense of community. Various ways of doing this include: hang out at the neighborhood Co-op, dinner parties with friends, vote, volunteer, talk to small-business owners, take the headphones out of your ears in public places just once in a while, put relationships before work when you can, etc. Although some of these ideas, such as volunteering, seem like something we could only do if there were 30 hours in every day, that's OK. It's the other very simple things that will make a huge difference.
*Have 3 places where you go nearly every day: One as home, one as the workplace, and one more, where you can just hang out. This should be a place where you can feel unproductive, but that's good! We need this.
*HAVE FUN! Being productive is only beneficial and cool for so long.
I wanted to share some astonishing statistics that Cecile shared too, only because I think it will make you want to alter your day in order to feel better about life....
*Happiness has declined in the last 5 years (My thought here was: "And our American Dream is so awesome because....?"
*25% of people have no friends.
*Most people have one intimate friend, that they can truly connect with.
*It is scientifically proven that the more friends a person has, the less likely they will experience health issues within their lifetime. (My thought here: A good excuse to hang out with friends more!)
*The U.S. goes to work 9 more weeks out of the year than Europe.
*Only 5 countries in the whole world do NOT receive a total maternity leave pay. The U.S. is one of the five.
*Men that take a 2-week-straight vacation reduce their risk of heart attack by 1/3.
*Women that take a 2-week-straight vacation are 50% less likely to get a heart attack in their lifetime.
*1/3 of Americans take their work with them on vacation. (My though here was: That doesn't even make sense.)
*Not enough leisure time can result in anxiety and/or depression.
*After a certain point, $$$$ not only does not make people happier, but makes them less happy.
*Since discussion of politics is obviously hot right now, I wanted to bring to attention some insight of Cecile's. From what I remember, she said that some people are trying to work with the Obama campaign on the three-week vacation Law- that's right, Law! It says that American citizens would withdraw from the workplace for a 3-week-straight vacation. This could potentially create more jobs in our country. Also, it would be so beneficial to working citizens and their mental and physical health. Simple and to the point, right?
I was SO grateful to attend Cecile's talk. Like many people I know, I am victim of inevitable and unaware multi-tasking and not enough leisure time for myself. Do you think this goes for a majority of Western students as well? As silly as some of these tips may sound, I think she has a fabulous point. Her book is the next one I will purchase at Village Books. It's called "Slow is Beautiful", by Cecile Andrews.
For anyone else who attended, what did you think of it? For anyone who didn't make it, do you have any responses?
Thanks for taking the time to read this novel, and now you should read Cecile's because it is probably much more fun :)
Great summary of Cecile's points Danica, you were definitely taking way more notes during her talk than I was.
Cecile was a great speaker, she made every one of the points Danica mentioned, but she took it a step further. She made us laugh at ourselves. Sometimes it is so easy to list all the things we NEED in life, and all the things we must do to acquire those lifestyles or objects. It is easy to forget in our culture that millions if not billions of people around the world have a main diet that consist of beans, rice, and whatever can be found in the dumpster. I know this is an extreme example, but Cecile made a convincing argument for why the complexities of our lives that we think will solve our problems really add to them.
I don't know about everyone else, but whenever I use a computer to get online I am bombarded with advertisements, head line news, political updates, family tragedies, etc. Whenever I turn on the television I am confronted with countless attempts to convince me to buy this product, that product, etc. And they each make it seem that without that detrimental item, you will be utterly miserable for the rest of your life, most advertisements I've listened to have actually gotten me something that ends up in my closet or broken within the first three months.
Cecile told us that if we simply our lives that we will be happier; point and shoot, that’s it. I agree with her 100%. In my entire life I have distinct memories of when I have been the most happy and content, and every single one of those moments have been from when I was backpacking in the wilderness. These are times when my life has been simpler than at any other moment in my life. When I turn off my cell phone and leave all thoughts of the people I'm not going to talk to, the television shows I'm going to miss, the homework I won't get done, and everything else included it is incredibly terrifying. Sometimes I feel lost or confused, almost like I'm missing a part of myself, which is what's really terrifying. However, within a day or two a HUGE weight is lifted from my shoulders, and I am allowed to live in the moment and enjoy every breath in a way that is truly truly truly impossible to achieve in our day to day lives. So try it, all of you, give up a few activities, work a little less, spend a little less, give up what seems essential, and be happy!