Monthly Message from the Work-Life Director
July Greetings from the Director
July Greetings from the DirectorSlow Down to Achieve Work Life Balance
Just in time for summer, a colleague in Human Resources passed around an article on the “Slow Movement
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/06/06/balance.slow.movement/
Started in Italy as a protest against fast food and promoted by author, Carl Honore’ (In Praise of Slow 2004), the slow movement counters the cultural assumption that faster and bigger is always better. Instead, slow movement advocates favor doing things “at the right speed” and quality over quantity.
I must confess that I learned to slow down by spending time with elders at the Senior Citizens Center, located at the corner of Alumni Dr. and Nicholasville Rd. Often when I would ask participants, “How are you doing today?”, the responses would be, “I woke up and thanked the Lord that I’m alive, and then I blessed the Lord that I was able to get out of bed! Isn’t it a glorious day?” Putting religious beliefs aside, their responses always caused me to pause from my work, because I had taken for granted waking up and I had taken for granted my body’s ability to move with ease.
Working with people who are slower in physical movement and speech automatically slows you down. Working with people who express daily gratitude for their lives reminds you to live more consciously. Without my time with elders, I don’t think I would have ever understood the deeper messages underlying the concept of work life balance: slow down, live consciously, be the best you can be in all that you do, every day, every minute.
Robynn
Don't forget to click on the article link in Robynn's message for ideas on how to join the slow movement.
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