Slowing down a bit can be rewarding

• Source: Global Times
• [01:10 July 29 2010]
• Comments

Perhaps we all have a similar experience. We all have a few humble tasks to do: visit parents, take the child out for a trip, finish a book or enjoy a short break.

But often, these things are pushed further down the to-do list, as we always seem to find bigger and more pressing duties to address.

Yes, we are living in a fast-moving world. And where else are things moving faster than in China? Miracles are to be created, dreams are to be fulfilled. There's a feeling of guilt if one thinks of slowing down and living a laid-back life. Dashing - that is the only way to get things done.

Few people want to live like this, to be honest. The Internet is full of grumpy comments about how agitated life has become. The question is whether we have lost the ability to slow down. In the race toward material acquisition, time is too precious to be spent on spiritual things. The soul is left behind.

There are so many reasons to explain the recklessness all around: too many people competing for fewer opportunities, lack of a welfare network and social unfairness.

We have to work harder and faster to get more, and thus compensate for what we have lost. To that end, regulations are often ignored and hidden rules have now become the prevailing acting code.

Imagine a country that has 1.3 billion people rushing around with a mentality that nothing is impossible. It has created so many exceptional things, economically and politically.

Unfortunately, they have paid too much a price for it, sacrificing resources, the environment and the quality life. People wonder why a country that is able to send astronauts into space cannot guarantee food safety. Not mentioning the rampant safety accidents and the lives taken.

For a long time, from individuals to governments, it is a common belief that development is the solution to all our problems. As long as we keep the economy growing, there will be a way out, from social instability to diplomatic conflicts.

But what we are experiencing seems to be suggesting that more problems are being created as the country chases the grander dream. Modernization is like a marathon, you cannot complete it with a sprint. A respite is badly needed before the country moves further.

Life is questionable without those relaxing moments thinking about what life is about. And for a country, it is a bigger achievement when its people can have more such quality moments.