Speed of life

As I tried to get myself going this morning, I listened to “Start the Week” on BBC Radio 4. The topic under discussion was the speed at which we live our lives.

It seems things really do go faster these days. It’s not just our perceptions as we grow older.  For some time it has struck me when we go down to Manchester to see family, just how fast people seem to be moving. Apparently it is just my perception. People really do walk faster these days.

Morecambe, where we live is a fairly sleepy town. Most the people here are retired, unemployed or holidaymakers trying to wind down from their hectic life elsewhere. On the whole life goes slowly here.

It goes even slower for us. Disability & old age are not conducive to speed. As the creaks increase speed slows down.

I suppose it is part of why so many people suffer from depression if they are disabled. It is easy to feel a lack of stimulation, & therefore need to hurry, when life has to go slowly due to lack of physical ability to go any faster. There’s too much time to sit & think, often not particularly positive thoughts.

We try to make sure we get out most days, to see different people, to get extra stimulation in our lives, to discover what’s happening around us & what’s new in the world, to appreciate the daily changes in our environment as weather changes, plants & wildlife appear & disappear with the seasons. It is important to have these little adventures to keep oneself interested in life.