Ritmo

Learning is a remarkable human capacity. I think that one of the things that sets our species apart is the possibility of using discriminative thinking as a very skillful tool for dealing with reality. In this action, understanding is refined and each person, in their way and time, builds an individual system for interpreting what they perceive. This process of building an interpretive framework can progressively limit the possibility of understanding other views.

The result is usually distancing or even discrimination against divergent views. At the moment, I think that one view that generates enormous limitations in our relationship with reality and with the systemic crises we are experiencing is the monoculture of the economic paradigm. From the very beginning of the educational process, the benchmark used is quantitative. We have become accustomed to seeing things only through a lens that disregards particularities, that overvalues what is massive and grandiose. In this approach, one of the most significant parts of life is left out.

Let's just take the issue of pace: you have to go further and faster, at any price. What is left out of the analyses is where we are going, and what direction our lives are taking in qualitative terms.

In individual terms, it's easy to see the enormous crisis of meaning that many people experience. Even if the goals proposed - or imposed - as a symbol of success are achieved, in the rare moments of lucidity disillusionment is inevitable, and superficially covered up by an endless cycle of symbol swapping. Regardless of their position or role in society, all people are subject to the inescapable factors of time and space that characterize our existence. As time passes, our bodies fulfil their life cycles, circumstances vary constantly and we have very limited control over them.

I feel that a good way to start questioning these limited and limiting models of reality is simply to slow down, to slow down the pace, in any activity. Whatever you're going to do, slow down.

Take a deep breath, and exhale slowly. When walking, slow down. If you like, deliberately make slow-motion movements with your hands, paying extra attention to how you feel when you do so. Allow yourself the experience of dilating the sensation of the passage of time by slowing down what you do.

This practice may seem trivial, but it brings noticeable results over time, by allowing a new relationship with objective reality. Over time, this new frame of reference can be extended to other aspects of everyday life. Without expectations, one possible result will be a much more refined ability to appreciate the uniqueness of each moment. As an additional effect, the ability to generate and find contentment in every moment of our day will reappear. Like everything simple, it requires acceptance that it is possible, without prior beliefs. And, above all, constant practice. A drop of clean water in a glass full of coffee will make its contents translucent, but it will take a few days for this to happen. The most important thing is to start, without haste and with constancy. The time is now. Take a deep breath.