[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.00,0:00:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I'd like to start off with is an observation,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.00,0:00:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is that if I've learned anything over the last year,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.00,0:00:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's that the supreme irony
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.00,0:00:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of publishing a book about slowness
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.00,0:00:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that you have to go around promoting it really fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.00,0:00:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I seem to spend most of my time these days
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.00,0:00:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,zipping from city to city, studio to studio,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.00,0:00:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interview to interview,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.00,0:00:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,serving up the book in really tiny bite-size chunks.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.00,0:00:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because everyone these days
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.00,0:00:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wants to know how to slow down,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.00,0:00:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they want to know how to slow down really quickly. So ...
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.00,0:00:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I did a spot on CNN the other day
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.00,0:00:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I actually spent more time in makeup than I did talking on air.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.00,0:00:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think that -- that's not really surprising though, is it?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.00,0:00:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because that's kind of the world that we live in now,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.00,0:00:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a world stuck in fast-forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.00,0:00:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A world obsessed with speed,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.00,0:00:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with doing everything faster, with cramming more and more
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.00,0:00:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into less and less time.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.00,0:00:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every moment of the day feels like
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.00,0:00:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a race against the clock.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.00,0:00:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To borrow a phrase from Carrie Fisher, which is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.00,0:00:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my bio there; I'll just toss it out again --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.00,0:00:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"These days even instant gratification takes too long." (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.00,0:01:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.00,0:01:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you think about how we to try to make things better, what do we do?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.00,0:01:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, we speed them up, don't we? So we used to dial; now we speed dial.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.00,0:01:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We used to read; now we speed read. We used to walk; now we speed walk.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.00,0:01:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, we used to date and now we speed date.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.00,0:01:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even things that are by their very nature slow --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.00,0:01:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we try and speed them up too.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.00,0:01:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I was in New York recently, and I walked past a gym
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.00,0:01:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that had an advertisement in the window for a new course, a new evening course.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.00,0:01:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was for, you guessed it, speed yoga.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.00,0:01:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this -- the perfect solution for time-starved professionals
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.00,0:01:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who want to, you know, salute the sun,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.00,0:01:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but only want to give over about 20 minutes to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, these are sort of the extreme examples,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.00,0:01:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're amusing and good to laugh at.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.00,0:01:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's a very serious point,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.00,0:01:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think that in the headlong dash of daily life,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.00,0:01:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we often lose sight of the damage
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.00,0:01:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this roadrunner form of living does to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.00,0:01:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're so marinated in the culture of speed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.00,0:01:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we almost fail to notice the toll it takes
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.00,0:01:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on every aspect of our lives --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.00,0:01:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on our health, our diet, our work,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.00,0:02:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our relationships, the environment and our community.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.00,0:02:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And sometimes it takes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.00,0:02:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a wake-up call, doesn't it,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.00,0:02:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to alert us to the fact that we're hurrying through our lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.00,0:02:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instead of actually living them; that we're
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.00,0:02:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living the fast life, instead of the good life.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.00,0:02:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think for many people, that wake-up call
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.00,0:02:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,takes the form of an illness.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.00,0:02:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, a burnout, or eventually the body says,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.00,0:02:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I can't take it anymore," and throws in the towel.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.00,0:02:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or maybe a relationship goes up in smoke
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.00,0:02:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we haven't had the time, or the patience,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.00,0:02:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the tranquility,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.00,0:02:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be with the other person, to listen to them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.00,0:02:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my wake-up call came when I started
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.00,0:02:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reading bedtime stories to my son,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.00,0:02:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I found that at the end of day,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.00,0:02:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would go into his room and I just couldn't slow down -- you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.00,0:02:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd be speed reading "The Cat In The Hat."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.00,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd be -- you know, I'd be skipping lines here,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,paragraphs there, sometimes a whole page,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.00,0:02:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and of course, my little boy knew the book inside out, so we would quarrel.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.00,0:02:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what should have been the most relaxing, the most intimate,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.00,0:02:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the most tender moment of the day,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.00,0:02:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when a dad sits down to read to his son,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.00,0:02:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became instead this kind of gladiatorial battle of wills,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.00,0:03:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a clash between my speed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.00,0:03:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his slowness.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.00,0:03:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this went on for some time,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.00,0:03:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until I caught myself scanning a newspaper article
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.00,0:03:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with timesaving tips for fast people.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.00,0:03:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one of them made reference to a series of books called
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.00,0:03:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The One-Minute Bedtime Story."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.00,0:03:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I wince saying those words now,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.00,0:03:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but my first reaction at the time was very different.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.00,0:03:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My first reflex was to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.00,0:03:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hallelujah -- what a great idea!
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.00,0:03:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is exactly what I'm looking for to speed up bedtime even more."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.00,0:03:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But thankfully,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.00,0:03:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a light bulb went on over my head, and my next reaction was very different,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.00,0:03:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I took a step back, and I thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.00,0:03:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Whoa -- you know, has it really come to this?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.00,0:03:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Am I really in such a hurry that I'm prepared
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.00,0:03:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to fob off my son with a sound byte at the end of the day?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.00,0:03:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I put away the newspaper --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.00,0:03:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was getting on a plane -- and I sat there,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.00,0:03:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I did something I hadn't done for a long time -- which is I did nothing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.00,0:03:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just thought, and I thought long and hard.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.00,0:03:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And by the time I got off that plane, I'd decided I wanted to do something about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.00,0:03:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to investigate this whole roadrunner culture,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.00,0:03:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what it was doing to me and to everyone else.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.00,0:04:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I had two questions in my head.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.00,0:04:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first was, how did we get so fast?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.00,0:04:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the second is, is it possible,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.00,0:04:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even desirable, to slow down?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.00,0:04:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, if you think about
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.00,0:04:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how our world got so accelerated, the usual suspects rear their heads.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.00,0:04:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You think of, you know, urbanization,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.00,0:04:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,consumerism, the workplace, technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.00,0:04:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I think if you cut through
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.00,0:04:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those forces, you get to what might be the deeper
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.00,0:04:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,driver, the nub of the question,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.00,0:04:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is how we think about time itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.00,0:04:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other cultures, time is cyclical.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.00,0:04:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's seen as moving in great,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.00,0:04:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unhurried circles.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.00,0:04:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's always renewing and refreshing itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.00,0:04:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whereas in the West, time is linear.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.00,0:04:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a finite resource;
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.00,0:04:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's always draining away.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.00,0:04:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You either use it, or lose it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.00,0:04:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Time is money," as Benjamin Franklin said.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.00,0:04:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think what that does to us psychologically
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.00,0:04:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is it creates an equation.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.00,0:04:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Time is scarce, so what do we do?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.00,0:04:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well -- well, we speed up, don't we?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.00,0:05:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We try and do more and more with less and less time.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.00,0:05:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We turn every moment of every day
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.00,0:05:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a race to the finish line --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.00,0:05:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a finish line, incidentally, that we never reach,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.00,0:05:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but a finish line nonetheless.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.00,0:05:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I guess that the question is,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.00,0:05:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is it possible to break free from that mindset?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.00,0:05:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And thankfully, the answer is yes, because
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.00,0:05:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what I discovered, when I began looking around, that there is
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.00,0:05:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a global backlash against this culture that
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.00,0:05:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tells us that faster is always better, and that busier is best.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.00,0:05:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.00,0:05:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're slowing down, and finding that,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.00,0:05:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down, you're road kill,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.00,0:05:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the opposite turns out to be true:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.00,0:05:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that by slowing down at the right moments,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.00,0:05:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people find that they do everything better.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.00,0:05:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They eat better; they make love better; they exercise better;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.00,0:05:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they work better; they live better.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.00,0:05:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, in this kind of cauldron
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.00,0:05:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of moments and places and acts of deceleration,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.00,0:05:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lie what a lot of people now refer to as
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.00,0:05:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the "International Slow Movement."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.00,0:05:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now if you'll permit me a small act of hypocrisy,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.00,0:06:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'll just give you a very quick overview of
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.00,0:06:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what's going on inside the Slow Movement. If you think of food,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.00,0:06:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of you will have heard of the Slow Food movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.00,0:06:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Started in Italy, but has spread across the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.00,0:06:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now has 100,000 members
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.00,0:06:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in 50 countries.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.00,0:06:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's driven by a very simple and sensible message,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.00,0:06:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is that we get more pleasure and more health
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.00,0:06:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from our food when we
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.00,0:06:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cultivate, cook and consume it at a reasonable pace.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.00,0:06:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think also the explosion of
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.00,0:06:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the organic farming movement, and the renaissance of farmers' markets,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.00,0:06:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are other illustrations
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.00,0:06:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the fact that people are desperate to get away from
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.00,0:06:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,eating and cooking and cultivating their food
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.00,0:06:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on an industrial timetable.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.00,0:06:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They want to get back to slower rhythms.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.00,0:06:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And out of the Slow Food movement has grown something
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.00,0:06:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called the Slow Cities movement, which has started in Italy,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.00,0:06:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but has spread right across Europe and beyond.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.00,0:06:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in this, towns
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.00,0:06:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,begin to rethink how they organize the urban landscape,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.00,0:06:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that people are encouraged to slow down
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.00,0:07:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and smell the roses and connect with one another.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.00,0:07:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they might curb traffic,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.00,0:07:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or put in a park bench, or some green space.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.00,0:07:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in some ways, these changes add up to more than the sum of their parts,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.00,0:07:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I think when a Slow City becomes officially a Slow City,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.00,0:07:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's kind of like a philosophical declaration.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.00,0:07:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's saying to the rest of world, and to the people in that town,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.00,0:07:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we believe that in the 21st century,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.00,0:07:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,\Nslowness has a role to play.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.00,0:07:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In medicine, I think a lot of people are deeply disillusioned
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.00,0:07:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the kind of quick-fix mentality
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.00,0:07:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you find in conventional medicine.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.00,0:07:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And millions of them around the world are turning
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.00,0:07:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to complementary and alternative forms of medicine,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.00,0:07:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which tend to tap into sort of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.00,0:07:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slower, gentler, more holistic forms of healing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.00,0:07:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, obviously the jury is out on many of these complementary therapies,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.00,0:07:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I personally doubt that the coffee enema
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.00,0:07:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will ever, you know, gain mainstream approval.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.00,0:07:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But other treatments
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.00,0:07:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as acupuncture and massage, and even just relaxation,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.00,0:07:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,clearly have some kind of benefit.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.00,0:07:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And blue-chip medical colleges everywhere
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.00,0:08:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are starting to study these things to find out how they work,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.00,0:08:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what we might learn from them.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.00,0:08:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sex. There's an awful lot of fast sex around, isn't there?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.00,0:08:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was coming to --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.00,0:08:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well -- no pun intended there.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.00,0:08:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was making my way, let's say, slowly to Oxford,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.00,0:08:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I went through a news agent, and I saw a magazine,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.00,0:08:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a men's magazine, and it said on the front,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.00,0:08:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"How to bring your partner to orgasm in 30 seconds."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.00,0:08:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, you know, even sex
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.00,0:08:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is on a stopwatch these days.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.00,0:08:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.00,0:08:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I like a quickie as much as the next person,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.00,0:08:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think that there's an awful lot to be gained
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.00,0:08:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from slow sex -- from slowing down in the bedroom.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.00,0:08:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, you tap into that -- those deeper,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.00,0:08:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of, psychological, emotional, spiritual currents,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.00,0:08:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you get a better orgasm with the buildup.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.00,0:08:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can get more bang for your buck, let's say.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.00,0:08:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, the Pointer Sisters said it most eloquently, didn't they,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.00,0:08:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when they sang the praises of "a lover with a slow hand."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.00,0:08:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we all laughed at Sting
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.00,0:08:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a few years ago when he went Tantric,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.00,0:08:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you fast-forward a few years, and now you find couples of all ages
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.00,0:08:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,flocking to workshops, or maybe just
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.00,0:09:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their own in their own bedrooms, finding ways
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.00,0:09:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to put on the brakes and have better sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.00,0:09:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, in Italy where -- I mean, Italians always seem to know
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.00,0:09:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where to find their pleasure --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.00,0:09:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they've launched an official Slow Sex movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.00,0:09:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The workplace.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.00,0:09:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right across much of the world --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.00,0:09:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,North America being a notable exception --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.00,0:09:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,working hours have been coming down.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.00,0:09:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Europe is an example of that,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.00,0:09:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and people finding that their quality of life improves
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.00,0:09:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they're working less, and also
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.00,0:09:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that their hourly productivity goes up.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.00,0:09:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, clearly there are problems with
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.00,0:09:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the 35-hour workweek in France --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.00,0:09:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,too much, too soon, too rigid.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.00,0:09:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But other countries in Europe, notably the Nordic countries,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.00,0:09:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are showing that it's possible
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.00,0:09:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have a kick-ass economy
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.00,0:09:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without being a workaholic.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.00,0:09:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Norway, Sweden,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.00,0:09:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Denmark and Finland now rank
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.00,0:09:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,among the top six most competitive nations on Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.00,0:09:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they work the kind of hours that would make the average American
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.00,0:09:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,weep with envy.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.00,0:09:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you go beyond sort of the country level,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.00,0:10:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down at the micro-company level,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.00,0:10:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more and more companies now are realizing
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.00,0:10:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they need to allow their staff
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.00,0:10:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,either to work fewer hours or just to unplug --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.00,0:10:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take a lunch break, or to go sit in a quiet room,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.00,0:10:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to switch off their Blackberrys and laptops -- you at the back --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.00,0:10:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mobile phones,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.00,0:10:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during the work day or on the weekend, so that they have time to recharge
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.00,0:10:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and for the brain to slide into that
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.00,0:10:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of creative mode of thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.00,0:10:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not just, though, these days,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.00,0:10:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,adults who overwork, though, is it? It's children, too.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.00,0:10:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm 37, and my childhood ended in the mid-'80s,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.00,0:10:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I look at kids now, and I'm just amazed by the way they
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.00,0:10:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,race around with more homework,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.00,0:10:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more tutoring, more extracurriculars
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.00,0:10:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than we would ever have conceived of a generation ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.00,0:10:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some of the most heartrending emails
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.00,0:10:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I get on my website
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.00,0:10:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are actually from adolescents
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.00,0:10:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hovering on the edge of burnout, pleading with me
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.00,0:10:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to write to their parents,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.00,0:10:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help them slow down, to help them get off this
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.00,0:11:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,full-throttle treadmill.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.00,0:11:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But thankfully, there is a backlash there in parenting as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.00,0:11:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you're finding that, you know, towns in the United States
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.00,0:11:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are now banding together and banning extracurriculars
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.00,0:11:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a particular day of the month, so that people can,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.00,0:11:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, decompress and have some family time, and slow down.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.00,0:11:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Homework is another thing. There are homework bans
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.00,0:11:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,springing up all over the developed world
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.00,0:11:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in schools which had been piling on the homework for years,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.00,0:11:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now they're discovering that less can be more.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.00,0:11:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there was a case up in Scotland recently
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.00,0:11:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where a fee-paying, high-achieving private school
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.00,0:11:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,banned homework
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.00,0:11:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for everyone under the age of 13,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.00,0:11:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the high-achieving parents freaked out and said,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.00,0:11:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What are you -- you know, our kids will fall" -- the headmaster said,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.00,0:11:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"No, no, your children need to slow down at the end of the day."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.00,0:11:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And just this last month, the exam results came in,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.00,0:11:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in math, science, marks went up 20 percent
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.00,0:11:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on average last year.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.00,0:11:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think what's very revealing is that
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.00,0:11:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the elite universities, who are often cited as the reason
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.00,0:11:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that people drive their kids and hothouse them so much,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.00,0:11:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are starting to notice the caliber of students
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.00,0:12:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,coming to them is falling. These kids have wonderful marks;
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.00,0:12:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have CVs jammed with extracurriculars,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.00,0:12:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the point that would make your eyes water.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:05.00,0:12:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they lack spark; they lack
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.00,0:12:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ability to think creatively and think outside --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.00,0:12:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they don't know how to dream. And so what these Ivy League schools,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.00,0:12:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Oxford and Cambridge and so on, are starting to send a message
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.00,0:12:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to parents and students that they need to put on the brakes a little bit.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.00,0:12:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in Harvard, for instance, they send out
Dialogue: 0,0:12:20.00,0:12:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a letter to undergraduates -- freshmen --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.00,0:12:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,telling them that they'll get more out of life, and more out of Harvard,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.00,0:12:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if they put on the brakes, if they do less,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.00,0:12:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but give time to things, the time that things need,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.00,0:12:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to enjoy them, to savor them.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.00,0:12:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even if they sometimes do nothing at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.00,0:12:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that letter is called -- very revealing, I think --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.00,0:12:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Slow Down!" -- with an exclamation mark on the end.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.00,0:12:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So wherever you look, the message, it seems to me, is the same:
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.00,0:12:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that less is very often more,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.00,0:12:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that slower is very often
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.00,0:12:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,better. But that said, of course,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.00,0:12:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's not that easy to slow down, is it?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.00,0:12:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, you heard that I got a speeding ticket
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.00,0:12:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while I was researching my book on the benefits of slowness,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.00,0:12:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's true, but that's not all of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.00,0:13:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was actually en route to a dinner
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.00,0:13:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,held by Slow Food at the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.00,0:13:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if that's not shaming enough, I got that ticket in Italy.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.00,0:13:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if any of you have ever driven on an Italian highway,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.00,0:13:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you'll have a pretty good idea of how fast I was going.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.00,0:13:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.00,0:13:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But why is it so hard to slow down?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.00,0:13:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think there are various reasons.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.00,0:13:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One is that speed is fun, you know, speed is sexy.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.00,0:13:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's all that adrenaline rush. It's hard to give it up.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.00,0:13:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think there's a kind of metaphysical dimension --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.00,0:13:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that speed becomes a way of walling ourselves off
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.00,0:13:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the bigger, deeper questions.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.00,0:13:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We fill our head with distraction, with busyness,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.00,0:13:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that we don't have to ask,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.00,0:13:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,am I well? Am I happy? Are my children growing up right?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.00,0:13:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Are politicians making good decisions on my behalf?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.00,0:13:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another reason -- although I think, perhaps, the most powerful reason --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.00,0:13:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why we find it hard to slow down is the cultural taboo
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.00,0:13:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we've erected against slowing down.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.00,0:13:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Slow" is a dirty word in our culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.00,0:13:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a byword for "lazy," "slacker,"
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.00,0:13:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for being somebody who gives up.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.00,0:13:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, "he's a bit slow." It's actually synonymous
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.00,0:13:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with being stupid.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.00,0:14:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess what the Slow Movement -- the purpose of the Slow Movement,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.00,0:14:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or its main goal, really, is to tackle that taboo,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.00,0:14:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to say that yes,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.00,0:14:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sometimes slow is not the answer,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.00,0:14:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there is such a thing as "bad slow."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:10.00,0:14:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, I got stuck on the M25,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.00,0:14:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is a ring road around London, recently,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.00,0:14:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and spent three-and-a-half hours there. And I can tell you,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.00,0:14:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's really bad slow.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:18.00,0:14:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the new idea,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.00,0:14:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the sort of revolutionary idea, of the Slow Movement,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.00,0:14:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that there is such a thing as "good slow," too.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:24.00,0:14:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And good slow is, you know, taking the time
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.00,0:14:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to eat a meal with your family, with the TV switched off.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.00,0:14:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or taking the time to look at a problem from all angles
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.00,0:14:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the office to make the best decision
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.00,0:14:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at work.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:36.00,0:14:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or even simply just taking the time
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.00,0:14:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to slow down
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.00,0:14:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and savor your life.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:42.00,0:14:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, one of the things that I found most uplifting
Dialogue: 0,0:14:45.00,0:14:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about all of this stuff that's happened around the book
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.00,0:14:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since it came out, is the reaction to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.00,0:14:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I knew that when my book on slowness came out,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.00,0:14:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would be welcomed by the New Age brigade,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.00,0:14:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's also been taken up, with great gusto,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:58.00,0:15:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the corporate world -- you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.00,0:15:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,business press, but also
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.00,0:15:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,big companies and leadership organizations.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.00,0:15:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because people at the top of the chain, people like you, I think,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:07.00,0:15:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are starting to realize that there's too much
Dialogue: 0,0:15:09.00,0:15:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,speed in the system,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:11.00,0:15:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's too much busyness, and it's time to find,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.00,0:15:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or get back to that lost art of shifting gears.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.00,0:15:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another encouraging sign, I think,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.00,0:15:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that it's not just in the developed world
Dialogue: 0,0:15:22.00,0:15:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this idea's been taken up. In the developing world,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:25.00,0:15:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in countries that are on the verge of making that leap
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.00,0:15:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into first world status -- China, Brazil,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.00,0:15:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thailand, Poland, and so on --
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.00,0:15:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these countries have embraced the idea of the Slow Movement,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.00,0:15:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many people in them, and there's a debate going on
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.00,0:15:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in their media, on the streets.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.00,0:15:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because I think they're looking at the West, and they're saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:41.00,0:15:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, we like that aspect of what you've got,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.00,0:15:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we're not so sure about that."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.00,0:15:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So all of that said, is it,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.00,0:15:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess, is it possible?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.00,0:15:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's really the main question before us today. Is it possible
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.00,0:15:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to slow down? And
Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.00,0:15:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm happy to be able to say to you
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.00,0:16:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the answer is a resounding yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.00,0:16:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I present myself as Exhibit A,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.00,0:16:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a kind of reformed and rehabilitated
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.00,0:16:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,speed-aholic.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:08.00,0:16:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I still love speed. You know, I live in London,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:10.00,0:16:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I work as a journalist,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:12.00,0:16:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I enjoy the buzz and the busyness,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:14.00,0:16:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the adrenaline rush that comes from both of those things.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.00,0:16:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I play squash and ice hockey,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:18.00,0:16:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two very fast sports, and I wouldn't give them up for the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:22.00,0:16:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I've also, over the last year or so,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.00,0:16:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got in touch with my inner tortoise.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.00,0:16:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.00,0:16:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what that means is that
Dialogue: 0,0:16:30.00,0:16:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I no longer
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.00,0:16:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,overload myself gratuitously.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:36.00,0:16:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My default mode is no longer
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.00,0:16:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be a rush-aholic.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.00,0:16:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I no longer hear
Dialogue: 0,0:16:44.00,0:16:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,time's winged chariot drawing near,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.00,0:16:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or at least not as much as I did before.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:48.00,0:16:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can actually hear it now, because I see my time is ticking off.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:52.00,0:16:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the upshot of all of that is that
Dialogue: 0,0:16:54.00,0:16:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I actually feel a lot happier, healthier,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:57.00,0:17:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more productive than I ever have.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.00,0:17:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel like I'm living
Dialogue: 0,0:17:02.00,0:17:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my life rather than actually just racing through it.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.00,0:17:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And perhaps, the most important
Dialogue: 0,0:17:08.00,0:17:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,measure of the success of this
Dialogue: 0,0:17:10.00,0:17:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that I feel that my relationships are a lot deeper,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.00,0:17:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,richer, stronger.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:15.00,0:17:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And for me, I guess, the litmus test
Dialogue: 0,0:17:18.00,0:17:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for whether this would work, and what it would mean,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:20.00,0:17:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was always going to be bedtime stories, because that's sort of where
Dialogue: 0,0:17:23.00,0:17:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the journey began. And there too the news is
Dialogue: 0,0:17:26.00,0:17:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rosy. You know,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:28.00,0:17:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the end of the day, I go into my son's room.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:30.00,0:17:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't wear a watch. I switch off my computer,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.00,0:17:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I can't hear the email pinging into the basket,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:34.00,0:17:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I just slow down to his pace and we read.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:38.00,0:17:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because children have their own tempo and internal clock,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:41.00,0:17:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they don't do quality time,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:43.00,0:17:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you schedule 10 minutes for them to open up to you.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.00,0:17:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They need you to move at their rhythm.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:48.00,0:17:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I find that 10 minutes into a story, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:50.00,0:17:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my son will suddenly say, "You know,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:52.00,0:17:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something happened in the playground today that really bothered me."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:54.00,0:17:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we'll go off and have a conversation on that.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:57.00,0:18:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I now find that bedtime stories
Dialogue: 0,0:18:00.00,0:18:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used to be
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.00,0:18:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a box on my to-do list, something that I dreaded,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:05.00,0:18:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it was so slow and I had to get through it quickly.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:07.00,0:18:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's become my reward at the end of the day,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:09.00,0:18:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something I really cherish.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:11.00,0:18:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I have a kind of Hollywood ending
Dialogue: 0,0:18:13.00,0:18:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to my talk this afternoon,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:15.00,0:18:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which goes a little bit like this:
Dialogue: 0,0:18:17.00,0:18:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a few months ago, I was getting ready to go on
Dialogue: 0,0:18:20.00,0:18:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,another book tour, and I had my bags packed.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:23.00,0:18:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was downstairs by the front door, and I was waiting for a taxi,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:26.00,0:18:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my son came down the stairs and
Dialogue: 0,0:18:28.00,0:18:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he'd made a card for me. And he was carrying it.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:30.00,0:18:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He'd gone and stapled two cards, very like these, together,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:32.00,0:18:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and put a sticker of his favorite
Dialogue: 0,0:18:35.00,0:18:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,character, Tintin, on the front.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:37.00,0:18:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:39.00,0:18:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or he handed this to me, and I read it,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:41.00,0:18:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it said, "To Daddy, love Benjamin."
Dialogue: 0,0:18:43.00,0:18:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, "Aw, that's really sweet.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:46.00,0:18:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is that a good luck on the book tour card?"
Dialogue: 0,0:18:49.00,0:18:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said, "No, no, no, Daddy -- this is a card
Dialogue: 0,0:18:51.00,0:18:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for being the best story reader in the world."
Dialogue: 0,0:18:53.00,0:18:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, "Yeah, you know, this slowing down thing really does work."
Dialogue: 0,0:18:56.00,0:18:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much.