About 15 years ago, I was working part-time at a college about six miles away from my home. I initially drove to work, but found the journey stressful and frustrating, with jams and long queues at traffic lights. I decided to start cycling instead. Because I could move freely through the traffic, the journey only took a few minutes longer than by car. It was great to be exercising in the open air, rather than sitting stationary inside a car.
But the best thing about cycling was that it enabled me to take in much more of the reality of the journey. I saw so many interesting old houses and beautiful old trees and flower beds that I had never noticed while driving. I saw turnings into quiet avenues that I had simply bypassed. Best of all, I could spend time looking at the sky, at the clouds and the still blues spaces between them and the morning sunlight shining through. Every morning, I arrived at work feeling energized and fulfilled. I was amazed at how much of the journey I had missed while driving, and how much more reality I sensed simply by travelling more slowly.
This a good metaphor for life itself. By living slowly, we experience much more reality, since we become present. We also find life much........