Carl Honore: In praise of slowness

カール・オノレイ: 「スロ－」の勧め

翻訳: Akira Koizumi 校正: Shogo Kobayashi

What I'd like to start off with is an observation,

昨年1年間を通じて

which is that if I've learned anything over the last year,

学んだことが事があります

it's that the supreme irony

とても皮肉なことですが

of publishing a book about slowness

「スロー」に関する本を出版すると

is that you have to go around promoting it really fast.

宣伝活動で「忙しく」なります

I seem to spend most of my time these days

最近では

zipping from city to city, studio to studio,

各所の都市の放送局で

interview to interview,

インタビューを受け

serving up the book in really tiny bite-size chunks.

本の内容を要約してお伝えしています

Because everyone these days

すべての人達が

wants to know how to slow down,

どうやってスローダウンするか

but they want to know how to slow down really quickly. So ...

急いで学びたがっているからです

so I did a spot on CNN the other day

CNNでは出演時間よりも

where I actually spent more time in makeup than I did talking on air.

メークの方が時間がかかりました

And I think that -- that's not really surprising though, is it?

これが現実ですから

Because that's kind of the world that we live in now,

当然ですよね

a world stuck in fast-forward.

スピードに縛られ

A world obsessed with speed,

強迫観念のように

with doing everything faster, with cramming more and more

限られた時間で詰め込む

into less and less time.

風潮があります

Every moment of the day feels like

生活のすべてが

a race against the clock.

時間との勝負です

To borrow a phrase from Carrie Fisher, which is

本にも記載しましたが

in my bio there; I'll just toss it out again --

キャリー・フィッシャーはこう言っています

"These days even instant gratification takes too long." (Laughter)

即席の楽しみでさえ時間がかかりすぎだと（笑い）

And

我々は

if you think about how we to try to make things better, what do we do?

何かを改善しようとすると

No, we speed them up, don't we? So we used to dial; now we speed dial.

スピードをあげるという方法をとります

We used to read; now we speed read. We used to walk; now we speed walk.

速く電話する 速く読む 速く歩く

And of course, we used to date and now we speed date.

デートでさえ 速くデートする風潮があります

And even things that are by their very nature slow --

元来 スローがコンセプトのものでさえ

we try and speed them up too.

速くする傾向にあります

So I was in New York recently, and I walked past a gym

NYでスポーツクラブの前を通ったとき

that had an advertisement in the window for a new course, a new evening course.

新しいコースが宣伝されていました

And it was for, you guessed it, speed yoga.

それはスピードヨガです

So this -- the perfect solution for time-starved professionals

忙しい人にはぴったりです

who want to, you know, salute the sun,

ヨガはしたいけど

but only want to give over about 20 minutes to it.

20分ぐらいでという人です

I mean, these are sort of the extreme examples,

これらの極端な例は

and they're amusing and good to laugh at.

冗談として笑えますが

But there's a very serious point,

気をつけなければならないのは

and I think that in the headlong dash of daily life,

スピードを重視する日常に潜んでいます

we often lose sight of the damage

速さ優先の生活スタイルがもたらす

that this roadrunner form of living does to us.

害を見落としがちです

We're so marinated in the culture of speed

速さの文化にどっぷりつかり

that we almost fail to notice the toll it takes

引き換えの代償に気付きません

on every aspect of our lives --

日常のあらゆる側面

on our health, our diet, our work,

健康 食事 仕事 人間関係

our relationships, the environment and our community.

環境 そして 社会における代償です

And sometimes it takes

それは時として

a wake-up call, doesn't it,

豊かな生活をせず

to alert us to the fact that we're hurrying through our lives,

生き急いでいる私たちへの

instead of actually living them; that we're

警告となって

living the fast life, instead of the good life.

現れます

And I think for many people, that wake-up call

これはしばしば

takes the form of an illness.

病気として表面化します

You know, a burnout, or eventually the body says,

燃え尽き症候群や

"I can't take it anymore," and throws in the towel.

体の拒否反応 もしくは

Or maybe a relationship goes up in smoke

誰かと一緒にいても

because we haven't had the time, or the patience,

時間に追われ 辛抱できず

or the tranquility,

平静を保てなくなり

to be with the other person, to listen to them.

人間関係がだめになるかもしれません

And my wake-up call came when I started

私への警告は

reading bedtime stories to my son,

子供を寝かしつけるときに

and I found that at the end of day,

やってきました

I would go into his room and I just couldn't slow down -- you know,

「帽子をかぶった猫」を読むのですが

I'd be speed reading "The Cat In The Hat."

ゆっくりと読むことに我慢できず

I'd be -- you know, I'd be skipping lines here,

所々を 時には1ページ全部を

paragraphs there, sometimes a whole page,

とばしてしまうのです

and of course, my little boy knew the book inside out, so we would quarrel.

息子は本を全部憶えているので 口論になります

And what should have been the most relaxing, the most intimate,

一日の中で最もリラックスし

the most tender moment of the day,

父として大切なわが子を

when a dad sits down to read to his son,

寝かしつけるという行為が

became instead this kind of gladiatorial battle of wills,

喧嘩になります

a clash between my speed

原因は私の速さと

and his slowness.

息子の遅さの不調和です

And this went on for some time,

この問題はしばらく続きました

until I caught myself scanning a newspaper article

新聞記事を見ていて

with timesaving tips for fast people.

時間節約のヒントという記事に

And one of them made reference to a series of books called

次のような本がありました

"The One-Minute Bedtime Story."

「1分間で済むベッドタイムストーリー」

And I wince saying those words now,

今ではあまり賛同しないタイトルですが

but my first reaction at the time was very different.

当時の私の反応は

My first reflex was to say,

違いました

"Hallelujah -- what a great idea!

「なんていいアイデアだ」

This is exactly what I'm looking for to speed up bedtime even more."

「これで早く寝かしつけることができる」

But thankfully,

しかし 有難いことに

a light bulb went on over my head, and my next reaction was very different,

ふとおかしいと感じたのです

and I took a step back, and I thought,

距離を置いて考えてみると

"Whoa -- you know, has it really come to this?

本当にそんな必要があるのか

Am I really in such a hurry that I'm prepared

息子との時間を削って

to fob off my son with a sound byte at the end of the day?"

スピードを重視する必要があるのか

And I put away the newspaper --

その時 飛行機に乗っていましたが

and I was getting on a plane -- and I sat there,

新聞を置いて

and I did something I hadn't done for a long time -- which is I did nothing.

久しぶりに何もしないで

I just thought, and I thought long and hard.

よく考えてみました

And by the time I got off that plane, I'd decided I wanted to do something about it.

降りるまでに決めたことがありました

I wanted to investigate this whole roadrunner culture,

スピード偏重の社会を調査し

and what it was doing to me and to everyone else.

私たちにどんな影響を与えているのか

And I had two questions in my head.

二つの論点が浮かびました

The first was, how did we get so fast?

一つ目は どのようにスピード偏重になったのか

And the second is, is it possible,

二つ目は スローダウンは可能なのか そして

or even desirable, to slow down?

受け入れられるのか

Now, if you think about

スピード偏重にどのようになったか考えると

how our world got so accelerated, the usual suspects rear their heads.

まず頭に浮かぶ理由は

You think of, you know, urbanization,

都市化 大量消費

consumerism, the workplace, technology.

労働環境 技術革新などです

But I think if you cut through

しかし これらに惑わされず

those forces, you get to what might be the deeper

より根本の原因を考えると

driver, the nub of the question,

問題の核心に辿り着きます

which is how we think about time itself.

それは時間の概念です

In other cultures, time is cyclical.

ある文化では 時間は

It's seen as moving in great,

循環すると考えられています

unhurried circles.

ゆっくりと循環し

It's always renewing and refreshing itself.

絶えず更新し新調されるという概念です

Whereas in the West, time is linear.

西欧では時間は直線的です

It's a finite resource;

時間は限りあるもので

it's always draining away.

絶えず失われていきます

You either use it, or lose it.

使わないと失われてしまうという

"Time is money," as Benjamin Franklin said.

「時は金なり」という概念です

And I think what that does to us psychologically

心理的に私たちは

is it creates an equation.

方程式を作っています

Time is scarce, so what do we do?

時間は有限で貴重だから

Well -- well, we speed up, don't we?

スピードを上げよう

We try and do more and more with less and less time.

短時間でより多くのことをしようとします

We turn every moment of every day

日常の全てを

into a race to the finish line --

レースに置き換えます

a finish line, incidentally, that we never reach,

そして そのレースには

but a finish line nonetheless.

ゴールがありません

And I guess that the question is,

このような考え方から

is it possible to break free from that mindset?

脱却することは可能なのでしょうか

And thankfully, the answer is yes, because

ありがたいことに 可能なのです

what I discovered, when I began looking around, that there is

今 世界中で

a global backlash against this culture that

速い方がいい 忙しいほうがいい

tells us that faster is always better, and that busier is best.

という風潮への反発が起こっています

Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable:

以前は考えられなかったことです

they're slowing down, and finding that,

社会通念上

although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down, you're road kill,

遅いことは悪いこととされていますが

the opposite turns out to be true:

そうではない場合もあります

that by slowing down at the right moments,

適切なときにスローダウンすることで

people find that they do everything better.

よりよい成果が出るとわかってきました

They eat better; they make love better; they exercise better;

食事 恋愛 運動 仕事など

they work better; they live better.

そして 生きるということもそうです

And, in this kind of cauldron

様々な場面で

of moments and places and acts of deceleration,

見られるスローダウンを勧める

lie what a lot of people now refer to as

現象は いわば世界的な

the "International Slow Movement."

スロー運動といえます

Now if you'll permit me a small act of hypocrisy,

スロー運動とはどういうものなのか

I'll just give you a very quick overview of

私なりに急いで

what's going on inside the Slow Movement. If you think of food,

お話しします まず食べ物です

many of you will have heard of the Slow Food movement.

スローフードがブームですね

Started in Italy, but has spread across the world,

イタリアから始まり世界に広がりました

and now has 100,000 members

現在50の国にわたり

in 50 countries.

10万人の会員がいます

And it's driven by a very simple and sensible message,

ゆっくりしたペースで食べ物を

which is that we get more pleasure and more health

栽培し 料理し 食することで

from our food when we

もっと喜びと健康を

cultivate, cook and consume it at a reasonable pace.

得ることができるというメッセージで成り立っています

I think also the explosion of

有機農業の人気や

the organic farming movement, and the renaissance of farmers' markets,

農業市場の再興からも

are other illustrations

人々が忙しい時間枠の中で

of the fact that people are desperate to get away from

食べたり料理したり

eating and cooking and cultivating their food

することから脱却したいと

on an industrial timetable.

考えているのがわかります

They want to get back to slower rhythms.

スローなリズムを取り戻したいのです

And out of the Slow Food movement has grown something

スローフード運動から派生したものとして

called the Slow Cities movement, which has started in Italy,

スローシティ運動があります　 イタリアから

but has spread right across Europe and beyond.

ヨーロッパ全土に広がりました

And in this, towns

都市の景観を見直して

begin to rethink how they organize the urban landscape,

住民がスローダウンをしやすくし

so that people are encouraged to slow down

休息し 人とのつながりを増やそうという

and smell the roses and connect with one another.

運動です

So they might curb traffic,

交通量を減らし

or put in a park bench, or some green space.

ベンチを置いて緑を増やすなど

And in some ways, these changes add up to more than the sum of their parts,

スローシティーへの活動が

because I think when a Slow City becomes officially a Slow City,

最終的には

it's kind of like a philosophical declaration.

哲学的な宣言になります

It's saying to the rest of world, and to the people in that town,

町の人に そして 世界に向けて

that we believe that in the 21st century,

21世紀では

スローが大切という宣言です

In medicine, I think a lot of people are deeply disillusioned

医療においても多くの人が

with the kind of quick-fix mentality

その場しのぎの治療に

you find in conventional medicine.

幻滅しています

And millions of them around the world are turning

そして それらを

to complementary and alternative forms of medicine,

補完　もしくは 代替する

which tend to tap into sort of

スローで全人的な形態の

slower, gentler, more holistic forms of healing.

治療に注目し始めています

Now, obviously the jury is out on many of these complementary therapies,

これら多くの治療に結論は出ていません

and I personally doubt that the coffee enema

個人的にはコーヒーのかん腸が

will ever, you know, gain mainstream approval.

人気になるとは思いませんが

But other treatments

しかし他の方法　 針治療や

such as acupuncture and massage, and even just relaxation,

マッサージ そして リラックスには

clearly have some kind of benefit.

何らかの効果があります

And blue-chip medical colleges everywhere

多くの有名な医大が

are starting to study these things to find out how they work,

これらがどのように効いているのか

and what we might learn from them.

学ぼうとしています

Sex. There's an awful lot of fast sex around, isn't there?

セックスも忙しいセックスが多いです

I was coming to --

最近 イッたときも・・・

well -- no pun intended there.

いや そっちじゃなくて

I was making my way, let's say, slowly to Oxford,

オックスフォードにですよ

and I went through a news agent, and I saw a magazine,

店頭で雑誌を見ました

a men's magazine, and it said on the front,

その男性誌のカバーには

"How to bring your partner to orgasm in 30 seconds."

「30秒でいかせる方法」と書いてありました

So, you know, even sex

セックスでさえ

is on a stopwatch these days.

時間との勝負です

Now, you know,

速いセックスが

I like a quickie as much as the next person,

だめというわけではないですが

but I think that there's an awful lot to be gained

スローなセックスから得られるものは

from slow sex -- from slowing down in the bedroom.

非常に多いと思います

You know, you tap into that -- those deeper,

感情的にも精神的にも

sort of, psychological, emotional, spiritual currents,

より深く触れ合うことで

and you get a better orgasm with the buildup.

より快感を

You can get more bang for your buck, let's say.

得ることができます

I mean, the Pointer Sisters said it most eloquently, didn't they,

ポインター・シスターズの歌にあるように

when they sang the praises of "a lover with a slow hand."

スローハンドが大切ですね

Now, we all laughed at Sting

スティングが数年前に

a few years ago when he went Tantric,

タントリックセックスに言及した際は

but you fast-forward a few years, and now you find couples of all ages

馬鹿にされましたが今では多くのカップルが

flocking to workshops, or maybe just

ワークショップに行ったり

on their own in their own bedrooms, finding ways

よりスローなセックスを

to put on the brakes and have better sex.

求めています

And of course, in Italy where -- I mean, Italians always seem to know

イタリア人は喜びを見つけるのが

where to find their pleasure --

上手ですが

they've launched an official Slow Sex movement.

スローセックス運動が正式に始まっています

The workplace.

労働に関しても

Right across much of the world --

北米は例外としても

North America being a notable exception --

多くの国で労働時間が

working hours have been coming down.

短くなっています

And Europe is an example of that,

ヨーロッパは労働時間を

and people finding that their quality of life improves

短くすることが生活の質だけでなく

as they're working less, and also

仕事の効率もあげるということが

that their hourly productivity goes up.

わかってきました

Now, clearly there are problems with

フランスでの

the 35-hour workweek in France --

週35時間労働制は

too much, too soon, too rigid.

柔軟性がなく 早計だったのは確かですが

But other countries in Europe, notably the Nordic countries,

北欧は 仕事中毒になることなく

are showing that it's possible

良好な経済状態を

to have a kick-ass economy

保つことが可能という

without being a workaholic.

証明しています

And Norway, Sweden,

ノルウェー スウェーデン

Denmark and Finland now rank

デンマーク フィンランドは今

among the top six most competitive nations on Earth,

世界の上位6カ国以内にランクされています

and they work the kind of hours that would make the average American

労働時間はアメリカ人が

weep with envy.

泣いてうらやましむほどです

And if you go beyond sort of the country level,

国レベルではなくミクロレベルで

down at the micro-company level,

見てみると

more and more companies now are realizing

多くの企業が

that they need to allow their staff

従業員の労働時間を

either to work fewer hours or just to unplug --

短縮するか

to take a lunch break, or to go sit in a quiet room,

休憩時間を増やし

to switch off their Blackberrys and laptops -- you at the back --

携帯やPCを切り

mobile phones,

仕事の合間や週末に

during the work day or on the weekend, so that they have time to recharge

リフレッシュすることで

and for the brain to slide into that

創造的な考えを

kind of creative mode of thought.

促しています

It's not just, though, these days,

大人だけではなく子供でさえ

adults who overwork, though, is it? It's children, too.

働きすぎです

I'm 37, and my childhood ended in the mid-'80s,

私は今37才なので80年代中盤に

and I look at kids now, and I'm just amazed by the way they

幼少時代を終えましたが

race around with more homework,

今日の子供は たくさんの宿題

more tutoring, more extracurriculars

家庭教師や課外活動で

than we would ever have conceived of a generation ago.

比べ物にならないくらい忙しいです

And some of the most heartrending emails

私のサイトに届いた

that I get on my website

胸の張り裂けるようなメールは

are actually from adolescents

疲れ果てているという

hovering on the edge of burnout, pleading with me

若者からで

to write to their parents,

私に自分たちの親を説得し

to help them slow down, to help them get off this

全速力の生活から救い出してほしいとの

full-throttle treadmill.

お願いでした

But thankfully, there is a backlash there in parenting as well,

しかし今 アメリカのいくつかの町では

and you're finding that, you know, towns in the United States

課外活動を禁止する日を

are now banding together and banning extracurriculars

協力して設定することで

on a particular day of the month, so that people can,

家族とゆっくり過ごすよう

you know, decompress and have some family time, and slow down.

促しています

Homework is another thing. There are homework bans

宿題に関しても同様です

springing up all over the developed world

先進国では長年にわたり

in schools which had been piling on the homework for years,

子供を宿題漬けにしてきましたが

and now they're discovering that less can be more.

宿題禁止が広がっています

So there was a case up in Scotland recently

スコットランドでは最近

where a fee-paying, high-achieving private school

私立の有名な進学校で

banned homework

13才以下への

for everyone under the age of 13,

宿題を禁止しました

and the high-achieving parents freaked out and said,

親たちは驚愕し子供の成績が

"What are you -- you know, our kids will fall" -- the headmaster said,

落ちることを危惧しましたが

"No, no, your children need to slow down at the end of the day."

スローダウンすることが大切と

And just this last month, the exam results came in,

校長は説き伏せ 結果的に

and in math, science, marks went up 20 percent

数学と科学の成績は昨年平均の

on average last year.

20％増になりました

And I think what's very revealing is that

また 英才教育の

the elite universities, who are often cited as the reason

代名詞となっている有名大学が

that people drive their kids and hothouse them so much,

生徒たちの力量の低下に

are starting to notice the caliber of students

気づき始めました

coming to them is falling. These kids have wonderful marks;

その生徒たちは考えられないくらい

they have CVs jammed with extracurriculars,

成績優秀で

to the point that would make your eyes water.

課外活動も多くこなしています

But they lack spark; they lack

しかし ひらめきが

the ability to think creatively and think outside --

そして 想像力が欠如し

they don't know how to dream. And so what these Ivy League schools,

夢がありません　アイビーリーグや

and Oxford and Cambridge and so on, are starting to send a message

オックスフォード ケンブリッジ等の有名大学は

to parents and students that they need to put on the brakes a little bit.

親や生徒にもう少しスローダウンするように進言してます

And in Harvard, for instance, they send out

ハーバード大学では

a letter to undergraduates -- freshmen --

新入生に手紙を送り

telling them that they'll get more out of life, and more out of Harvard,

スローダウンして 一つ一つのことを

if they put on the brakes, if they do less,

深く味わい学ぶことで

but give time to things, the time that things need,

より多くのことを得ることができると

to enjoy them, to savor them.

伝えています

And even if they sometimes do nothing at all.

何もしないということでも

And that letter is called -- very revealing, I think --

学ぶことができるとも言っており

"Slow Down!" -- with an exclamation mark on the end.

この手紙は「スローダウンしよう！」という題が付いています

So wherever you look, the message, it seems to me, is the same:

このようなメッセージを見て

that less is very often more,

減らすということでより多くを学べ

that slower is very often

スローにすることで より良くなると

better. But that said, of course,

改めて感じますが

it's not that easy to slow down, is it?

スローダウンすることは容易ではありません

I mean, you heard that I got a speeding ticket

スローの効果に関する調査をしている時

while I was researching my book on the benefits of slowness,

スピード違反で捕まってしまいました

and that's true, but that's not all of it.

スローフードのレストランでの

I was actually en route to a dinner

夕食に向かう途中でした

held by Slow Food at the time.

それはイタリアでのことでしたが

And if that's not shaming enough, I got that ticket in Italy.

イタリアの高速で運転したことがある人なら

And if any of you have ever driven on an Italian highway,

どれだけスピードを出していたか

you'll have a pretty good idea of how fast I was going.

お分かりいただけると思います

(Laughter)

（笑い）

But why is it so hard to slow down?

なぜスローダウンするのは難しいのでしょう

I think there are various reasons.

理由はたくさんあります

One is that speed is fun, you know, speed is sexy.

スピードは時に楽しいものです

It's all that adrenaline rush. It's hard to give it up.

アドレナリンが出て病みつきになります

I think there's a kind of metaphysical dimension --

形而上学的には

that speed becomes a way of walling ourselves off

スピードは大きな深い疑問から

from the bigger, deeper questions.

自分を守る手段です

We fill our head with distraction, with busyness,

忙しさで頭をいっぱいにし

so that we don't have to ask,

健康や幸せ 子供たちの成長

am I well? Am I happy? Are my children growing up right?

国政について等 深く考えないように

Are politicians making good decisions on my behalf?

しているのです

Another reason -- although I think, perhaps, the most powerful reason --

もう一つの大きな理由として

why we find it hard to slow down is the cultural taboo

文化的なタブーが関わっています

that we've erected against slowing down.

私たちの文化でスローダウンは

"Slow" is a dirty word in our culture.

よくないことと見なしてきました

It's a byword for "lazy," "slacker,"

スローは怠惰や

for being somebody who gives up.

怠け者の代名詞です

You know, "he's a bit slow." It's actually synonymous

「彼はスローだ」という言葉は

with being stupid.

「馬鹿」と同義です

I guess what the Slow Movement -- the purpose of the Slow Movement,

スロー運動の目的は

or its main goal, really, is to tackle that taboo,

タブーに立ち向かうことです

and to say that yes,

もちろん

sometimes slow is not the answer,

スローが常に正しいわけではなく

that there is such a thing as "bad slow."

悪いスローというものもあります

You know, I got stuck on the M25,

ロンドンの25号線で

which is a ring road around London, recently,

3時間半も

and spent three-and-a-half hours there. And I can tell you,

渋滞に巻き込まれました これは

that's really bad slow.

悪いスローといえます

But the new idea,

しかし新しい考え方では

the sort of revolutionary idea, of the Slow Movement,

良いスローという革新的なことに

is that there is such a thing as "good slow," too.

着眼しています

And good slow is, you know, taking the time

良いスローとはテレビを消して

to eat a meal with your family, with the TV switched off.

家族とゆっくり食事をすることです

Or taking the time to look at a problem from all angles

また 仕事では時間をかけて

in the office to make the best decision

問題を様々な角度から

at work.

検証することです

Or even simply just taking the time

また 単純に

to slow down

ゆっくり自分の人生を

and savor your life.

楽しむことです

Now, one of the things that I found most uplifting

本を出版してから

about all of this stuff that's happened around the book

一番うれしいことは

since it came out, is the reaction to it.

その反響です

And I knew that when my book on slowness came out,

スローに関する本が

it would be welcomed by the New Age brigade,

新しい世代に共感されることは

but it's also been taken up, with great gusto,

予想していましたが

by the corporate world -- you know,

業界紙に取り上げられ

business press, but also

大企業や組織も

big companies and leadership organizations.

興味を示してくれました

Because people at the top of the chain, people like you, I think,

組織のトップの方々が

are starting to realize that there's too much

スピード偏重の問題に

speed in the system,

気づいて

there's too much busyness, and it's time to find,

スローダウンする必要性を

or get back to that lost art of shifting gears.

感じています

Another encouraging sign, I think,

また 先進国だけでなく

is that it's not just in the developed world

先進国の仲間入りを果たそうとしている

that this idea's been taken up. In the developing world,

新興国である

in countries that are on the verge of making that leap

中国やブラジル

into first world status -- China, Brazil,

タイやポーランドでも

Thailand, Poland, and so on --

同様にスロー運動の考えが

these countries have embraced the idea of the Slow Movement,

多くの人に共感を与えており

many people in them, and there's a debate going on

メディアや市民間で

in their media, on the streets.

話し合われています

Because I think they're looking at the West, and they're saying,

彼らにとって西欧諸国は

"Well, we like that aspect of what you've got,

見習うべきものでもありますが

but we're not so sure about that."

そうでないところもあると感じているのです

So all of that said, is it,

つまるところ

I guess, is it possible?

私たちの前に立ちはだかる疑問は

That's really the main question before us today. Is it possible

スローダウンすることは

to slow down? And

本当に可能なのかどうかです

I'm happy to be able to say to you

答えは

that the answer is a resounding yes.

はっきりと可能といえます

And I present myself as Exhibit A,

その証拠として 私自身が

a kind of reformed and rehabilitated

スピード中毒から

speed-aholic.

更生できています

I still love speed. You know, I live in London,

いまだにスピードは好きです

and I work as a journalist,

ロンドンに住んでますし

and I enjoy the buzz and the busyness,

記者ですから 忙しさからくる

and the adrenaline rush that comes from both of those things.

アドレナリンを感じることは好きです

I play squash and ice hockey,

スカッシュやアイスホッケーという

two very fast sports, and I wouldn't give them up for the world.

スピード重視のスポーツが好きです

But I've also, over the last year or so,

しかしここ数年

got in touch with my inner tortoise.

心の中の亀とも共存しています

(Laughter)

（笑い）

And what that means is that

以前のように

I no longer

やみくもに背負いすぎない

overload myself gratuitously.

ようにしています

My default mode is no longer

スピード偏重でも

to be a rush-aholic.

なくなりました

I no longer hear

時間が刻一刻と

time's winged chariot drawing near,

迫りくる感覚は

or at least not as much as I did before.

もう感じられなくなるほどになりました

I can actually hear it now, because I see my time is ticking off.

今日の残り時間が迫っているのは見えています

And the upshot of all of that is that

これらの結果として

I actually feel a lot happier, healthier,

私はより幸せに より健康に

more productive than I ever have.

より生産的になることができ

I feel like I'm living

人生をレースするのではなく

my life rather than actually just racing through it.

生きていると感じることができます

And perhaps, the most important

そして 何よりもの成功は

measure of the success of this

人間関係が

is that I feel that my relationships are a lot deeper,

より深く豊かに強くなったこと

richer, stronger.

だと思います

And for me, I guess, the litmus test

うまくいっているかは

for whether this would work, and what it would mean,

いつも子供を寝かしつける時に

was always going to be bedtime stories, because that's sort of where

わかります

the journey began. And there too the news is

スローへの回帰が始まった原点です

rosy. You know,

一日の終わりに

at the end of the day, I go into my son's room.

子供の部屋に入る時

I don't wear a watch. I switch off my computer,

腕時計はつけません

so I can't hear the email pinging into the basket,

パソコンも消します

and I just slow down to his pace and we read.

子供のペースに合わせて本を読みます

And because children have their own tempo and internal clock,

子供たちは自分たちのペースを

they don't do quality time,

もっています

where you schedule 10 minutes for them to open up to you.

10分間のベッドタイムストーリーを

They need you to move at their rhythm.

子供のペースで読んで聞かせると

I find that 10 minutes into a story, you know,

突然 「今日学校で

my son will suddenly say, "You know,

嫌なことがあったんだ」と

something happened in the playground today that really bothered me."

話し始めます そして

And we'll go off and have a conversation on that.

二人でそれについて話すのです

And I now find that bedtime stories

以前は本を読み聞かせるのは

used to be

To Doリストの一つであり

a box on my to-do list, something that I dreaded,

時間がかかるため

because it was so slow and I had to get through it quickly.

好きではありませんでした

It's become my reward at the end of the day,

今では一日の終わりのご褒美で

something I really cherish.

とても大切な時間です

And I have a kind of Hollywood ending

ハリウッド映画の

to my talk this afternoon,

ハッピーエンドみたいですが

which goes a little bit like this:

数ヶ月前に

a few months ago, I was getting ready to go on

本の宣伝ツアーのため

another book tour, and I had my bags packed.

荷物を用意して

I was downstairs by the front door, and I was waiting for a taxi,

一階でタクシーを待っていると

and my son came down the stairs and

息子が手作りのカードを持って

he'd made a card for me. And he was carrying it.

二階から下りてきました

He'd gone and stapled two cards, very like these, together,

二つのカードを重ねて留めて

and put a sticker of his favorite

好きなキャラクターが前面に

character, Tintin, on the front.

貼ってあります

And he said to me,

受け取って

or he handed this to me, and I read it,

読んでみると

and it said, "To Daddy, love Benjamin."

「お父さんへ愛をこめて」と

And I thought, "Aw, that's really sweet.

書いてあり 「ありがとう

Is that a good luck on the book tour card?"

本のツアーのお守りかな」というと

And he said, "No, no, no, Daddy -- this is a card

「違うよ お父さんは世界で一番

for being the best story reader in the world."

本を読むのが上手だからだよ」

And I thought, "Yeah, you know, this slowing down thing really does work."

やはりスローダウンすることは大切ですね

Thank you very much.

どうもありがとうございました