How to Remain Human in a World Obsessed with Speed

An injury made Justine Toh slow down. She learned that true wisdom comes from a slow and steady pace. “She says that anything that nurtures your soul takes time. This truth clashes with our culture. We often think faster is better and that efficiency is crucial.”

I can’t run right now – or what, for me, passes for running. I must walk, and I hate it. A tear in my right calf muscle shows I’m a typical middle-class, middle-aged person. I try to make up for my desk. This 43-year-old body isn’t what it used to be.

As I become a reluctant novice, the spiritual value of walking is slowly dawning on me. We’ve all heard “walk before you run” — a reminder that you have to master the basics before chasing the big stuff. But in a world obsessed with speed, running might be less an ideal and more the conformist choice. It’s the same urge that makes us binge-watch shows or scroll endlessly. It also pulls us into fast sites like https://nationalcasino.com/. Everything is made to keep us excited and on the go.

Wisdom and sanity might be found in slowing down. Opt for stillness instead of speed, walking rather than running, and being present instead of feeling rushed.

Because if we’re always running to keep up, we stop noticing where we are. And that’s when we lose touch with ourselves, with others, with the quiet moments where growth happens.

So here I am, limping through the lessons I’d rather have ignored. Not because I wanted to slow down, but because my body left me no choice. And maybe, just maybe, that’s not such a bad thing.

The Spiritual Discipline of Slowing Down

Part of why walking frustrates me is this constant inner drive to move faster. As a full-time working mom with young kids, I often feel rushed for time. I’m in a phase of life where that is common.

We mums, yet, are at the pointy end of something more chronic. In the 1990s, author James Gleick warned us about the accelerating pace of life. This was before next-day delivery and 1.5x audio became common. Back then, we didn’t have next-day delivery, 1.5x listening speeds, or Jamie Oliver’s 15-minute meals. Now they are. This leads us to believe that speed is more important and efficiency is the most crucial factor. To deliberately slow down, then, feels like failure.

Well, call me a slow learner, but anything that grows your soul takes time. You can’t rush to deep understanding. Some truths only become apparent when you take the time to pay attention.

These days, since actual running is off the table, I’ve been venturing out in my new walking shoes. I’m discovering how hard it is to walk here. I feel it in a way I wouldn’t if I only saw it from a car or GPS. GPS doesn’t stop aimless wandering. It’s another example of the “efficiency is everything” approach. That walk down a path you never saw before can help you love a place more.

What We Lose When We Speed Up

Gerard Manley Hopkins, a 19th-century Jesuit poet, mourned the impact of industrial growth. He captured this loss with the words: “all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil.” He also noted, “nor can foot feel, being shod.” If he were here now, he’d likely support earthing, which promotes health by walking barefoot. Hopkins argued that humanity has lost a key connection with itself and nature. This happened as it hurried to adopt technology. Nearly two centuries on, we’re still caught in the same cycle — and it’s moving faster than we’re built for.

So what would it mean to hit pause — to step off the spinning wheel? This isn’t an easy choice. In a world that values endless economic growth, I doubt the next generation will claim that God, known as The Economy, is dead. We may not be able to stop the rush of life, but we can slow down a bit.

For me, I keep in mind a tiny glimpse of paradise to power my modest resistance. A vivid moment from the Bible’s creation story: “the man and the woman heard the Lord God as he walked in the garden during the cool of the day.”

Granted, it’s not an altogether happy scene. The human pair is about to learn the costs of pushing past human limits. Sound familiar?) in eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Their fate mirrors our own: we’re all still wandering, far from Eden.

Yet, while brief, the remaining details are suggestive. Heaven is human beings walking with each other and God in his perfect place. There’s no need to rush. The world and its endless pleasures will reveal themselves in time. We will discover them together. A daily walk and talk lets you review your day. Being with loved ones brings peace. This heart, mind, and soul connection is restful. It’s how every day should end.

I long for that kind of pace and the deep attention and connection it implies. Until then, I’ll enjoy the neighborhood jasmine during my walks. I’ll say a prayer for help and strength to.

I’m placing my bet on what I half-jokingly call the walking cure.