“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Recently, my husband and I loaded up the car and drove down Interstate-5 towards Los Angeles. Knowing the road would be long and somewhat dull we were prepared for the journey. However, the mysterious gridlock traffic in the very middle of nowhere with no reason to be found makes one…grab their iPhone and start making pictures. To be reminded that beauty is everywhere if you slow down and look was my lesson that day. In the middle of “nowhere” I found gorgeous painterly landscapes that took my breath away. Why do we wait until life slows us down to find this?
“The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, and you should try not to forget snacks and magazines.”
― Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
I have a theory on the answer to your question “Why do we wait until life slows us down to find this?” I think we wait until we are forced into slowing down because we have all bought into the false myth that progress by necessity means getting more things done faster. In the tech industry, this is a myth that is nothing short of rampant — as if people in the industry can’t wait for Star Trek to become a reality.
Meanwhile, no one is asking the important questions. Where are we going so fast? What are the costs of getting there faster? There are always hidden personal costs beyond the obvious impersonal ones. If we are going there so fast, are we really sure that we’re going in the right direction? And by “right” I mean the ethical and humane direction. I think that we must challenge the myth by proactively slowing down and by asking these questions whenever we are asked to sacrifice time on the ill-defined altar of progress.
Jim, great comments, laura, beautiful contemplative images.
My two cents…..what are we living in front of our children?
Thanks for food for thought, each day, each moment, is my quest for beauty.