Wonder Increases As Speed Decreases
रफ़्तार कम होने से आश्चर्य बढ़ता है-- डेविड हास्केल के द्वारा
एक पल के लिए जैसा मैं कहता हूँ वैसा करें: आइए हम एक छोटा-सा ख्याली प्रयोग करते हैं। हम दो अलग-अलग सुबहों की तुलना करेंगे। एक में आप पांच घंटे की यात्रा के लिए तट से तट पर उड़ान भरेंगे। अपने आप को ऊंची-पीठ को सहारा देने वाली कुर्सी पर बैठा देखने की कल्पना करें, और जैसे-जैसे घंटे रेंगते हैं, आप सैकड़ों मील की दूरी तय करते हैं। मन में क्या भावना आती है? उबासी या अरोचकता। ध्यान भटकाने की आवश्यकता तीव्र है: एक किताब, एक फिल्म, मूंगफली का एक झुर्रीदार बैग। अब एक और सुबह की कल्पना कीजिए। उड़ान पथ पर किसी भी जगह को चुनें और वही पांच घंटे खेतों, शहरी इलाकों या जंगलों में टहलने में बिताएं। कौन सी मानसिक स्थिति दिमाग में आती है? निश्चित रूप से ऊब नहीं। व्यस्तता या जिज्ञासा, शायद?
तो, गति कम होने पर आश्चर्य बढ़ता है। जैसे ही हम कम जमीन को कवर करते हैं, हम और अधिक उजागर करते हैं; जैसे-जैसे हम अपने देखने के क्षेत्र को संकीर्ण करते हैं, हमारे क्षितिज का विस्तार होता है। पूरब के भिक्षु यह जानते हैं: एक सांस में सब कुछ है। पश्चिम के कवि भी इसे जानते हैं: ब्लेक कहते हैं, "... रेत के दाने में एक दुनिया।" लेकिन इस सत्य को केवल साधक और मनीषी ही नहीं देखते हैं। लगभग सभी साहित्य एक ही समझ पर निर्मित होते हैं। टॉल्स्टॉय ने अन्ना करेनिना को इस दावे के साथ खोला होगा कि, "खुश परिवार सभी एक जैसे होते हैं; हर दुखी परिवार अपने तरीके से दुखी होता है," लेकिन अगले नौ सौ पृष्ठ "सब" और "हर" के बारे में नहीं हैं, इसके बजाय वे कुछ की विशेषताओं की जांच करते हैं। टॉल्स्टॉय ने मुट्ठी भर लोगों पर गहन ध्यान केंद्रित करके मानवीय संबंधों की एक अधिक व्यापक तस्वीर चित्रित की, जो किसी भी समग्र पाठ्यपुस्तक की तुलना में अधिक व्यापक थी।
मैं इस अंतर्दृष्टि को जंगल में ले कर गया ताकि मैं देख सकूं कि मैं क्या सीख सकता हूं। पत्तियों के इस छोटे से घेरे के जीवन पर अपना ध्यान देते हुए मैंने एक वर्ष एक वर्ग मीटर जंगल को देखने में बिताया। जंगल का टुकड़ा प्राकृतिक दुनिया में मेरी खिड़की बन गया। उस वर्ष के दौरान, मैंने सैलामैंडर, भृंग, कीड़े, कवक, फूल, गीत गाने वाले पक्षी, चींटियाँ, कैटरपिलर, छछूँदर और पत्तियों की एक परेड देखी। जंगल के एक छोटे से हिस्से में मौजूद गतिविधि आश्चर्यजनक थी। हालाँकि, अधिक आश्चर्यजनक वह था जो मैं नहीं देख सकता था। आधी मुट्ठी मिट्टी में एक अरब सूक्ष्मजीव अपना जीवन व्यतीत करते हैं। हम मनुष्य उन्हें नहीं देख सकते हैं, लेकिन हम मिट्टी में उनकी गर्म गंध को सूंघ सकते हैं और उनकी क्रिया को देख सकते हैं क्योंकि पतझड़ के पत्ते धीरे-धीरे पृथ्वी में डूब जाते हैं। इस छिपे हुए "निन्यानवे प्रतिशत" के बिना शेष जीवन संभव नहीं होगा।
सैकड़ों घंटे जंगल में बैठे रहने से मेरे होश उड़ गए। मैं दुनिया की विविध भौतिकता से इस तरह से जुड़ा, जिसने मेरे अनुभव को समृद्ध किया और मुझे जंगल के कामकाज को बेहतर ढंग से समझने में मदद की। उदाहरण के लिए, प्रकाश की गुणवत्ता, वर्ष के दौरान नाटकीय रूप से बदलती रहती है। गर्मियों में, फोटोन-लालची पेड़ के पत्ते, प्रकाश से अधिकांश रंगों को चुरा लेते हैं, जिससे जंगल की छतरी के नीचे एक हरी-पीली दुनिया बन जाती है। इसलिए लाल पंख वाला पक्षी गर्मियों में सांवला और नीरस दिखता है - पेड़ों ने लाल प्रकाश चुरा लिया है, इसलिए पक्षी के पंखों से प्रतिबिंबित होने के लिए लाल रंग उपलब्ध नहीं है। लेकिन यदि पक्षी स्वयं को सूर्य के प्रकाश की अबाध किरण में स्थित करता है, तो उसके रंग एक शानदार ज्वाला में प्रज्वलित हो जाते हैं। शरद ऋतु में पेड़ प्रकाश पर अपनी पकड़ छोड़ देते हैं और जंगल का तालू खुल जाता है। वन तल पर जड़ी-बूटियों के पौधे इस नई-नई समृद्धि का उपयोग करने के लिए अपने विकास में एकदम उछाल लगाते हैं।
हम दुनिया में आश्चर्य, अपने को अद्भुत स्थानों की तलाश में हवाई जहाज में बैठकर पूरे ग्रह का चक्कर लगाकर नहीं पाते। बल्कि, आश्चर्य तब आता है जब हम अपना ध्यान दुनिया पर देते हैं, अपने घरों से शुरूआत करते हुए। अपने होश में आकर, अपने आस-पास की गंध, स्पर्श, ध्वनियों और स्थलों पर ध्यान देकर, हम अपनी दुनिया की उल्लेखनीय कहानियाँ सुनना शुरू कर सकते हैं। हालाँकि, इसके लिए मेरा कहा न मानें। आप जहां भी रहते हैं वहां एक छोटा सा क्षेत्र चुनें - पार्क में एक पेड़, अपने घर के पीछे जमीन का एक छोटा सा घेरा, एक अपार्टमेंट परिसर के पीछे एक पानी की धारा - और इसे अपने ध्यान से सम्मानित करें। नाटकीयता या ज्ञानोदय की अपेक्षा न करें, बस महीनों तक चुपचाप देखें और दुनिया को जीवंत होते देखें।
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विचार के लिए मूल प्रश्न: आप इस धारणा से कैसे संबंधित हैं कि गति कम होने पर आश्चर्य बढ़ता है? क्या आप कोई व्यक्तिगत कहानी साझा कर सकते हैं जब आप धीमे हो गए और आश्चर्य में वृद्धि का एहसास हुआ? चुपचाप देखने की प्रतिबद्धता बनाने में क्या बात आपकी मदद करती है?
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David Haskell is the author of The Forest Unseen. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he and his wife run Cudzoo Farm, a small homestead producing hand-crafted goat milk soaps.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that wonder increases as speed decreases? Can you share a personal story of a time you slowed down and realized an increase in wonder? What helps you build the commitment to watch quietly?
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15 Past Reflections
On Mar 26, 2023 Babusankarasubramanian wrote :
This is an eye-opener rather opens the mind I have been going through life with a tearing hurry Simply had no idea how the world would unravel when i slow down In fact i have been apprehending that i may miss the life if i slow down How paradox by hurrying through the life i have been missing the valuable wonders that the life has been tirelessly offering Grateful for tthis piece of simple yet profound valuable life lesson
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On Sep 4, 2022 Jay Sheth wrote :
It was late 2008 or early 2009. I was studying in a Master's program at the city of Vadodara. I dropped a friend going home at weekend via train and was returning back to my solitary room. I was feeling lot of anxiety on account of pending homework and reports to be finished.
I started to walk slowly without thinking or worrying about how i was appearing outside. It was late evening and dark anyway.
As I slowed my walk, my breathing, I could sense calming and aligning with my footsteps. I felt massaged in my feet as I walked slowly putting feet properly on the ground.
By the time I reached hostel, I felt renewed by my walking activity and felt calm and serene. It felt, the word is .... Deeply satisfying.
I was practising Tantra Techniques since 3 to 4 months then. This moment was culmination of all effort of past 4 months into an incredible experience of peace.
I started to walk slowly without thinking or worrying about how i was appearing outside. It was late evening and dark anyway.
As I slowed my walk, my breathing, I could sense calming and aligning with my footsteps. I felt massaged in my feet as I walked slowly putting feet properly on the ground.
By the time I reached hostel, I felt renewed by my walking activity and felt calm and serene. It felt, the word is .... Deeply satisfying.
I was practising Tantra Techniques since 3 to 4 months then. This moment was culmination of all effort of past 4 months into an incredible experience of peace.
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On Aug 31, 2022 badri wrote :
Yes, as you watch the world comes all alive , with its own order, own rhythm and beauty..
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On Aug 31, 2022 smok wrote :
This is lovely. However, I'm not so sure about the words "greedy" and "stolen". I suppose it depends on how we view the world. But, are trees actually greedy and thieving, or are they flourishing and giving through this flourishing? Giving shade, giving food, giving air, etc.
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On Aug 30, 2022 Shyam wrote :
I have witnessed this wonder when walking without a destination, without any agenda. When we walk fir an agenda , the purpose or the destination blinds us to the wonders and amazing sights during the journey.
Slowing down , spending quality time on the way , reveals so many hidden truths, both outside and inside of our selves.
Slowing down , spending quality time on the way , reveals so many hidden truths, both outside and inside of our selves.
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On Aug 30, 2022 JC wrote :
Wonderful. The size of a place in consciousness isn't really related to its size in the measurable world :)
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On Aug 30, 2022 Kate Mackrell wrote :
I go litter-picking! Not often enough, now - but during the lockdowns of the pandemic I was out every day, moving slowly, noticing all the quiet beauty in "ordinary" suburbia, and experiencing the deep satisfaction of the slow shift of the seasons. Not to mention the reward of liberating small bits of grass, or bushes, from poison, even if just temporarily.
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On Aug 30, 2022 Bryn wrote :
I noticed this when my children were babies. From their birth, every day was new in their development. I learned to be present in daily growth. It was an honor to observe their journey. It was also tiring at times being a mom of an infant. Some days seemed repetitive. And yet, when they achieved milestones in their development, I never felt like I was ready for them to move on to the next stage due to my lag in comprehending their mastery. I felt left behind every 3 months. There was an awkwardness that I felt these tiny beings were on a path that I couldn't keep up with as an adult. I laughed at myself often about this realization.
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On Aug 29, 2022 Annie wrote :
In true accord with this reflection I sat watching a water boatman slowly skim across a pond back and forth whilst the reflections of the sky also danced on the surface of the water behind which a whole new world emerged beneath the surface of the water another galaxy of life living in the dynamic depths of otherwise unseen experiences I could never have experienced until I stopped and sat to simply gaze. But I did experience an otherness and was all the richer for it - thank you for this wonderful reflection - all experience is simply a reflection out there of what is in here and in slowing down we know we are a part of something much bigger than the small self.
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On Aug 28, 2022 Ted wrote :
The premise "Wonder Increases as Speed Decreases" seems to be contradicted by the author's apparent boredom with the lack (and slowness) of movement within the plane. I always greatly enjoyed flying not only as meditation, but specifically as invitation to explore the different fractal scales of awareness (as the author notes in the second paragraph). Bot then only constricting awareness with a narrower and narrower view loses the more complete perspective, much as the study of only a square meter of forest can ignore the larger ecosystem that is required for it to exist. When time and space are seen as illusions, then scale, movement, and speed are no longer what they seemed ...
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On Aug 27, 2022 David Doane wrote :
I think of being mindful and still in relation to the notion that wonder increases as speed decreases. There is wonder to behold in the micro and in the macro, in moving slowly and in moving fast. The problem I see is we are so often in a hurry trying to get somewhere or attain something or multitask that we miss so much including the wonder. It helps to slow down and smell the flowers. Slowing down increases the chance of experiencing wonder. When I slow down, there is an increase in my being present, paying attention, and relating to what is happening and who I am with, and I realize an increase in wonder. What helps me build the commitment to watch quietly is the benefits including increase in peace, in satisfaction, and sometimes in wonder and gratitude, and I make a better contribution to the situation.
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On Aug 26, 2022 Naren Kini wrote :
Life takes us thru phases I think. Youth creates a sense of urgency to get to a place, achieve something, reach a pedestal and in the process just not enjoy the process. Stamina over speed, observation over look, wonder over delight, pause to create poise. At this stage, when we learn to enjoy every step of the walk, take in the nature we enjoy it more for soul and body nourishment rather than just an exercise to stay fit. Similar is a road trip, Take stops to enjoy and observe changes in landscapes, weather, vegetation rather than drive to the destination in record time only to miss the tree in pursuit of the forests, miss being the drop that has the potential to become the ocean
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On Aug 26, 2022 Jagdish P. Dave wrote :
Wonder Increases As Growth Deceases makes me think slowly and deeply. I wonder how many times I slow down to see the sun rising and setting, the birds churping in my backyard, or the flowers changing colors. We live in a fast moving world with a sign I Don't Have Time. I used to slow down and relate to nature and human beings without rushing. I would pay my undivided attention to what was happening in the present moment and embrace it with wonderment. Walking on the fast moving lane I miss seeing the wonderful unfolding of natural beauty. Wonder decreases as speed increases. I need to slow down to appreciate what David Haskell says " Wonder Increases As Speed Decreases."
I have been learning the art of living, living fully in the present moment. Living this way I enjoy the wonderment of the present moment unbound by the past and the future. Daily practice of sitting quietly and letting revealed the joy and light of the now consciousness helps me to live fully.
Namaste!
Jagdish P D... [View Full Comment]
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On Aug 26, 2022 susan schaller wrote :
I just moved into a community of twenty people, and thinking how practicing love, sustainability - sharing - and unity with people I can see and eat with - comm- une - "One- with" everyday is training and growing that I cannot do facing the whole world, racing from one stranger to another, one country to another, one institution to another. CommUnity slows me into seeing truth, love, peace and gratitude with each person, each meal, and each day. Slowing down is a spiritual practice, making love, one pointed attention,
and selfless service possible.
and selfless service possible.
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On Aug 25, 2022 Richard Whittaker wrote :
Love this piece. Walking is such an advanced mode of travel if you have an interest in seeing things and feeling some connection with them... It's amazing what can blossom in one's experience by traveling this way.