Carl Honore: In praise of slowness

Traducător: Corina Ciubotaru Corector: Brandusa Gheorghe

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

Aș vrea să încep cu o observație,

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

și anume, că dacă am învățat ceva în ultimul an,

it's that the supreme irony

e că ironia supremă

of publishing a book about slowness

a publicării unei cărți despre lentoare

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

e că trebuie s-o promovezi foarte rapid.

I seem to spend most of my time these days

Se pare că îmi petrec mai tot timpul zilele astea,

zipping from city to city, studio to studio,

grăbindu-mă din oraș în oraș, din studio în studio,

interview to interview,

din interviu în interviu,

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

servind cartea în bucatele foarte mici.

Because everyone these days

Pentru că toată lumea în zilele noastre

wants to know how to slow down,

vrea să știe cum să încetinească,

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

dar vor să afle cum să încetinească foarte rapid,

(Râsete)

so I did a spot on CNN the other day

deci am avut o apariție la CNN zilele trecute

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

unde am petrecut mai mult la machiaj decât vorbind pe post.

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

Și cred că, deși asta nu e chiar atât de surprinzător, nu?

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

Pentru ca asta e lumea în care trăim,

a world stuck in fast-forward.

o lume blocată pe modul rapid.

A world obsessed with speed,

O lume obsedată de viteza,

with doing everything faster, with cramming more and more

de a face totul mai repede, de a înghesui din ce în ce mai multe

into less and less time.

într-un timp din ce în ce mai scurt.

Every moment of the day feels like

Fiecare moment al zilei pare o cursa împotriva timpului.

a race against the clock.

To borrow a phrase from Carrie Fisher, which is

Vorba lui Carrie Fisher

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

care e și în biografia mea, dar o voi repeta:

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

„În ziua de azi chiar și recompensarea imediată durează prea mult."

And

(Râsete)

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

Și ce facem când vrem să îmbunătățim lucrurile?

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

Le acceleram.

Obișnuiam să formăm un număr; acum apelăm rapid.

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

Citeam, acum citim rapid.

Mergeam, acum mergem în viteză.

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

Și desigur, obișnuiam să avem întâlniri, acum avem întâlniri-fulger.

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

Și chiar și lucrurile care sunt încete prin natura lor

we try and speed them up too.

încercăm să le acceleram.

Am fost în New York recent și am trecut pe lângă o sală de sport

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

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

care avea o reclamă în geam pentru un curs nou de seară.

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

Și era pentru, ați ghicit, yoga rapidă.

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

A apărut o soluție perfectă pentru profesioniștii fără timp

who want to, you know, salute the sun,

care vor să salute soarele,

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

dar vor să-i acorde numai 20 de minute.

I mean, these are sort of the extreme examples,

Acestea sunt exemple extreme

and they're amusing and good to laugh at.

și sunt amuzante și radem de ele.

But there's a very serious point,

Dar e un aspect foarte serios

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

și cred că în cursa vieții zilnice

we often lose sight of the damage

pierdem adesea din vedere daunele

that this roadrunner form of living does to us.

pe care ni le aduce această viață grăbită.

We're so marinated in the culture of speed

Suntem atât de îmbibați de cultura vitezei

that we almost fail to notice the toll it takes

încât nici nu mai observăm prețul pe care îl plătim

on every aspect of our lives --

în fiecare latură a vieții noastre.

on our health, our diet, our work,

Sănătatea, dieta, slujba,

our relationships, the environment and our community.

relațiile, mediul și comunitatea.

And sometimes it takes

Și uneori e nevoie de un semnal de alarmă

a wake-up call, doesn't it,

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

care să ne anunțe că ne grăbim prin viețile noastre,

instead of actually living them; that we're

în loc să le trăim cu adevărat,

living the fast life, instead of the good life.

trăim viața rapidă, în locul vieții bune.

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

Și cred că pentru mulți oameni, semnalul de alarmă

takes the form of an illness.

ia forma unei boli.

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

O epuizare, până la urmă corpul ne spune

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

„Nu mai pot”, și aruncă prosopul.

Or maybe a relationship goes up in smoke

Sau poate o relație se duce de râpă

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

pentru ca n-am avut timpul, sau răbdarea,

or the tranquility,

sau liniștea,

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

de a fi cu cealaltă persoana, de a o asculta.

And my wake-up call came when I started

Semnalul meu de alarma a venit când am început

reading bedtime stories to my son,

să îi citesc povești fiului meu

and I found that at the end of day,

și am văzut că la sfârșitul zilei

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

mă duceam în camera lui și nu puteam să încetinesc,

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

citeam repede „Pisica din pălarie”.

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

Săream rânduri aici,

paragraphs there, sometimes a whole page,

paragrafe dincolo, uneori o pagina întreagă

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

și desigur, băiețelul meu știa cartea pe de rost, așa că ne certam.

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

Și ceea ce ar fi trebuit să fie cel mai relaxant, cel mai intim,

the most tender moment of the day,

cel mai tandru moment al zilei,

when a dad sits down to read to his son,

în care un tata stă și îi citește fiului său,

became instead this kind of gladiatorial battle of wills,

devenise de fapt o bătalie a voințelor;

a clash between my speed

o ciocnire între viteza lui și...

and his slowness.

de fapt, între viteza mea și lentoarea lui.

And this went on for some time,

Și asta a durat ceva timp,

until I caught myself scanning a newspaper article

până m-am surprins citind un articol din ziar

with timesaving tips for fast people.

cu sfaturi pentru oameni grăbiți.

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

Și unul dintre sfaturi menționa o serie de cărți intitulată

"The One-Minute Bedtime Story."

„Povești de un minut.”

And I wince saying those words now,

Si eu, ma cutremur cand spun acum acele cuvinte,

but my first reaction at the time was very different.

dar prima reactie a fost foarte diferita atunci.

My first reflex was to say,

Primul meu reflex a fost sa spun

"Hallelujah -- what a great idea!

"Aleluia, ce idee grozava!

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

Este exact ce imi trebuie ca sa grabesc si mai mult adormirea copilului."

But thankfully,

Dar din fericire

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

mi s-a aprins un beculet si urmatoarea mea reactie a fost foarte diferita

and I took a step back, and I thought,

si am facut un pas inapoi si m-am gandit

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

"Hopa, chiar la asta s-a ajuns?

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

Sunt chiar atat de grabit incat sunt gata

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

sa-mi expediez fiul doar cu un sunet la sfarsitul zilei?"

And I put away the newspaper --

Si apoi am aruncat ziarul,

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

si ma pregateam sa urc in avion, si am stat acolo

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

si am facut ceva ce nu mai facusem de multa vreme, mai exact n-am facut nimic.

I just thought, and I thought long and hard.

Doar m-am gandit, m-am gandit mult si bine.

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

Si pana am coborat din avion, ma hotarasem sa fac ceva in privinta asta.

I wanted to investigate this whole roadrunner culture,

Vroiam sa investighez toata cultura asta a cucilor alergatori

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

si efectele ei asupra mea si asupra celorlalti.

And I had two questions in my head.

Si aveam doua intrebari in minte.

The first was, how did we get so fast?

Prima era "Cum de am devenit asa rapizi?"

And the second is, is it possible,

Iar a doua era "Este posibil,

or even desirable, to slow down?

sau macar de dorit, sa incetinim?"

Now, if you think about

Acum, daca ne gandim la

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

cum a ajuns lumea noastra asa de accelerata, ies la iveala suspectii de serviciu.

You think of, you know, urbanization,

Ne gandim, stiti, la urbanizare,

consumerism, the workplace, technology.

consumerism, locul de munca, tehnologie.

But I think if you cut through

Dar cred ca daca trecem de

those forces, you get to what might be the deeper

aceste forte, ajungem la ceva ce ar putea fi motivul mai profund,

driver, the nub of the question,

la miezul problemei,

which is how we think about time itself.

care este modul in care privim timpul in sine.

In other cultures, time is cyclical.

In alte culturi, timpul e ciclic.

It's seen as moving in great,

Se crede ca el curge in

unhurried circles.

cercuri mari, incete.

It's always renewing and refreshing itself.

Intotdeauna se innoieste si se improspateaza.

Whereas in the West, time is linear.

In vreme ce in Vest, timpul este liniar.

It's a finite resource;

Este o resursa finita,

it's always draining away.

mereu se scurge.

You either use it, or lose it.

Ori il folosesti, ori il pierzi.

"Time is money," as Benjamin Franklin said.

Timpul inseamna bani, cum a spus Benjamin Franklin.

And I think what that does to us psychologically

Si cred ca asta are efecte psihologice asupra noastra, ne...

is it creates an equation.

ne creeaza o ecuatie.

Time is scarce, so what do we do?

Timp e putin, deci ce facem?

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

Pai...pai acceleram, nu?

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

Incercam sa facem din ce in ce mai multe in din ce in ce mai putin timp.

We turn every moment of every day

Transformam fiecare moment al zilei

into a race to the finish line --

intr-o cursa spre linia de sosire.

a finish line, incidentally, that we never reach,

O linie la care, de fapt, nu ajungem niciodata,

but a finish line nonetheless.

dar care tot o linie de sosire este.

And I guess that the question is,

Si cred ca intrebarea este daca

is it possible to break free from that mindset?

se poate sa scapam de acest mod de gandire.

And thankfully, the answer is yes, because

Si din fericire, raspunsul este da, pentru ca

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

eu am descoperit, cand am inceput sa caut, ca exista un

a global backlash against this culture that

curent global impotriva acestei culturi care

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

ne spune ca mai repede e mereu mai bine si ca mai ocupat e cel mai bine.

Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable:

In toata lumea, oamenii fac ceva de neimaginat:

they're slowing down, and finding that,

incetinesc si afla ca

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

desi gandirea conventionala le spune ca daca reduci viteza, esti calcat in picioare,

the opposite turns out to be true:

contrariul se dovedeste a fi adevarat.

that by slowing down at the right moments,

Ca incetinind in momentele potrivite,

people find that they do everything better.

oamenii afla ca fac totul mai bine.

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

Mananca mai bine, fac dragoste mai bine, fac sport mai bine,

they work better; they live better.

muncesc mai bine, traiesc mai bine.

And, in this kind of cauldron

Iar in acest tip de cazan in care se amesteca

of moments and places and acts of deceleration,

momente, locuri si incetiniri,

lie what a lot of people now refer to as

se gaseste ceea ce multi oameni numesc acum

the "International Slow Movement."

Miscarea Internationala a Lentorii.

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

Acum daca imi permiteti un mic act de ipocrizie,

I'll just give you a very quick overview of

am sa va ofer un foarte rapid rezumat a ceea ce

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

se intampla in cadrul Miscarii. Daca va ganditi la mancare,

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

multi veti fi auzit de miscarea "Mancare Lenta."

Started in Italy, but has spread across the world,

A inceput in Italia dar s-a raspandit in intreaga lume

and now has 100,000 members

si acum are 100 000 de membri

in 50 countries.

in 50 de tari.

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

Si se conduce dupa un mesaj foarte simplu si de bun simt,

which is that we get more pleasure and more health

si anume acela ca obtinem mai multa placere si mai multa sanatate

from our food when we

din mancarea noastra cand

cultivate, cook and consume it at a reasonable pace.

o cultivam, o preparam si o consumam intr-un ritm rezonabil.

I think also the explosion of

Mai cred ca explozia

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

miscarii fermelor organice si renasterea pietelor taranesti

are other illustrations

este o alta...sunt alte ilustrari

of the fact that people are desperate to get away from

ale faptului ca oamenii incearca disperati sa scape de

eating and cooking and cultivating their food

consumarea si prepararea si cultivarea mancarii lor

on an industrial timetable.

dupa un program industrial.

They want to get back to slower rhythms.

Vor sa se intoarca la ritmuri mai lente.

And out of the Slow Food movement has grown something

Iar din miscarea Mancarii Lente s-a dezvoltat ceva

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

numit miscarea "Oraselor Lente", care a inceput in Italia,

but has spread right across Europe and beyond.

dar s-a raspandit in toata Europa si mai departe.

And in this, towns

Datorita ei, orasele

begin to rethink how they organize the urban landscape,

incep sa isi regandeasca organizarea peisajului urban

so that people are encouraged to slow down

in asa fel incat oamenii sa fie incurajati sa incetineasca

and smell the roses and connect with one another.

si sa miroasa trandafirii si sa aiba relatii unii cu altii.

So they might curb traffic,

Se reduce traficul,

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

se pun banci in parcuri, se planteaza flori.

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

Si intr-un fel, aceste schimbari reprezinta mai mult decat suma partilor lor,

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

pentru ca eu cred ca atunci cand un Oras Lent devine in mod oficial un Oras Lent,

it's kind of like a philosophical declaration.

este ca un fel de declaratie filozofica.

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

Spune lumii si propriilor locuitori

that we believe that in the 21st century,

ca noi credem ca lentoarea

are un rol de jucat in secolul 21.

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

In medicina, cred ca multi oameni sunt puternic dezamagiti

with the kind of quick-fix mentality

de tipul de mentalitate solutie-rapida

you find in conventional medicine.

pe care-l gasesti in medicina conventionala.

And millions of them around the world are turning

Si milioane de oameni din intreaga lume se indreapta catre

to complementary and alternative forms of medicine,

forme complementare si alternative de medicina,

which tend to tap into sort of

care tind sa foloseasca

slower, gentler, more holistic forms of healing.

metode mai lente, mai blande, mai holistice de vindecare.

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

Acum, bineinteles ca terapiile complementare sunt controversate

and I personally doubt that the coffee enema

si eu personal ma indoiesc ca spalatura cu cafea

will ever, you know, gain mainstream approval.

va avea vreodata suportul comunitatii stiintifice.

But other treatments

Insa alte tratamente

such as acupuncture and massage, and even just relaxation,

cum sunt acupunctura si masajul, sau chiar doar relaxarea,

clearly have some kind of benefit.

au in mod evident un fel de beneficiu.

And blue-chip medical colleges everywhere

Pretutindeni, facultati de medicina renumite au inceput

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

sa studieze aceste practici ca sa afle cum functioneaza

and what we might learn from them.

si ce putem invata de la ele.

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

Sexul. Se practica mult sex rapid, nu?

I was coming to --

Terminam...

well -- no pun intended there.

in fine, nu intentionam sa fac un joc de cuvinte.

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

Ma indreptam, sa zicem, incet catre Oxford

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

si am intrat intr-un magazin de ziare si am vazut o revista,

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

o revista pentru barbati, care avea pe coperta titlul

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

"Cum sa-ti aduci partenera la orgasm in 30 de secunde."

So, you know, even sex

Deci, intelegeti, chiar si sexul

is on a stopwatch these days.

se face cu cronometrul in zilele noastre.

Now, you know,

Acum, desigur ca

I like a quickie as much as the next person,

si mie imi place una mica la fel ca oricui,

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

dar cred ca am castiga foarte mult

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

din sexul lent, din a incetini ritmul in dormitor.

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

Stiti, accesezi acei, sa zicem,

sort of, psychological, emotional, spiritual currents,

curenti psihologici, emotionali, spirituali mai profunzi,

and you get a better orgasm with the buildup.

si obtii un orgasm mai puternic in urma acumularii.

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

Mai multa placere la acelasi pret, sa zicem.

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

Pointer Sisters au fost cele mai elocvente, nu-i asa,

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

cand au laudat amantul cu maini lente.

Now, we all laughed at Sting

Si toti am ras de Sting

a few years ago when he went Tantric,

acum cativa ani cand a inceput sexul tantric,

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

dar derulezi cativa ani, si acum gasesti cupluri de toate varstele

flocking to workshops, or maybe just

ingramadite la seminarii, sau poate doar

on their own in their own bedrooms, finding ways

la ei in dormitor, incercand sa gaseasca moduri

to put on the brakes and have better sex.

de a reduce viteza si de a face sex mai bine.

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

Si desigur in Italia, unde oamenii par intotdeauna sa stie

where to find their pleasure --

unde sa-si gaseasca placerea,

they've launched an official Slow Sex movement.

au lansat o miscare oficiala de Sex Lent.

The workplace.

Locul de munca...

Right across much of the world --

in cea mai mare parte a lumii,

North America being a notable exception --

America de Nord este o exceptie notabila,

working hours have been coming down.

orele de munca s-au redus.

And Europe is an example of that,

Europa este un exemplu al faptului

and people finding that their quality of life improves

ca oamenii cresc nivelul calitatii propriei vieti

as they're working less, and also

pe masura ce muncesc mai putin si

that their hourly productivity goes up.

ca productivitatea lor pe ora creste.

Now, clearly there are problems with

Desigur ca exista probleme cu

the 35-hour workweek in France --

saptamana de munca de 35 de ore din Franta,

too much, too soon, too rigid.

prea mult, prea devreme, prea rigida.

But other countries in Europe, notably the Nordic countries,

Dar alte tari din Europa, in special cele nordice,

are showing that it's possible

ne arata ca este posibil

to have a kick-ass economy

sa ai o economie grozava

without being a workaholic.

fara sa fii ahtiat de munca.

And Norway, Sweden,

Norvegia, Suedia,

Denmark and Finland now rank

Danemarca si Finlanda sunt acum

among the top six most competitive nations on Earth,

printre cele mai competitive 6 economii ale lumii,

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

si au un numar de ore de munca care ar face americanul de rand

weep with envy.

sa planga de invidie.

And if you go beyond sort of the country level,

Iar daca treci de nivelul de tara

down at the micro-company level,

si ajungi la cel de micro-companie,

more and more companies now are realizing

din ce in ce mai multe companii inteleg acum

that they need to allow their staff

ca trebuie sa permita angajatilor

either to work fewer hours or just to unplug --

fie sa lucreze mai putine ore, fie sa se deconecteze,

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

sa ia o pauza de pranz, sa stea intr-o camera linistita,

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

sa isi inchida Blackberry-urile si laptop-urile, voi cei din spate,

mobile phones,

telefoanele mobile,

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

in timpul zilei sau in weekend, ca sa aiba timp sa se reincarce

and for the brain to slide into that

si sa lase creierul sa ajunga la

kind of creative mode of thought.

acea stare creativa a gandirii.

It's not just, though, these days,

Totusi, in zilele noastre, nu doar adultii

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

muncesc prea mult, nu? Si copiii fac la fel.

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

Am 37 de ani si copilaria mea s-a incheiat la mijlocul anilor '80,

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

asa ca ma uit la copiii de azi si ma uimeste felul in care ei

race around with more homework,

se agita cu mai multe teme,

more tutoring, more extracurriculars

mai multe meditatii, mai multe activitati extrascolare,

than we would ever have conceived of a generation ago.

decat ne-am fi putut imagina cu o generatie in urma.

And some of the most heartrending emails

Iar unele dintre cele mai emotionante email-uri

that I get on my website

pe care le primesc pe site

are actually from adolescents

vin de fapt de la adolescenti

hovering on the edge of burnout, pleading with me

aflati in pragul epuizarii, care ma roaga

to write to their parents,

sa le scriu parintilor

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

ca sa ii ajut sa incetineasca, sa ii ajut sa coboare de pe aceasta

full-throttle treadmill.

banda rulanta la viteza maxima.

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

Dar din fericire, exista o urmare si pentru parinti,

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

si aflam ca orase din Statele Unite

are now banding together and banning extracurriculars

se aliaza si interzic activitatile extrascolare

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

intr-o anumita zi a lunii, pentru ca oamenii sa poata

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

sa se destinda si sa petreaca timp cu familia, si sa incetineasca.

Homework is another thing. There are homework bans

Temele sunt altceva. Exista interdictii ale temelor

springing up all over the developed world

care apar in toata lumea dezvoltata,

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

in scoli care puneau mare accent pe ele ani intregi

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

si care vad acum ca mai putin poate insemna mai mult.

So there was a case up in Scotland recently

A fost un caz in Scotia recent

where a fee-paying, high-achieving private school

unde o scoala privata cu taxa si rezultate bune

banned homework

a interzis temele

for everyone under the age of 13,

pentru toti elevii sub 13 ani,

and the high-achieving parents freaked out and said,

iar parintii de succes s-au speriat si au zis

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

"Ce e cu voi, stiti, copiii nostri vor ramane in urma", iar directorul a spus

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

"Nu, nu, copiii vostri trebuie sa o ia incet la sfarsitul zilei."

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

Si luna trecuta, cand au aflat rezultatele examenelor,

and in math, science, marks went up 20 percent

au vazut ca notele de la matematica si stiinte au crescut cu 20%

on average last year.

fata de media de anul trecut.

And I think what's very revealing is that

Ceea ce cred eu ca e foarte important este ca

the elite universities, who are often cited as the reason

universitatile de elita, pe care se da vina

that people drive their kids and hothouse them so much,

pentru ambitionarea si stresarea copiilor,

are starting to notice the caliber of students

au inceput sa constate un nivel din ce in ce mai scazut al studentilor

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

care se inscriu. Acesti copii au note grozave,

they have CVs jammed with extracurriculars,

au CV-uri atat de pline de activitati extrascolare,

to the point that would make your eyes water.

incat iti vine sa plangi.

But they lack spark; they lack

Dar le lipseste scanteia, le lipseste

the ability to think creatively and think outside --

abilitatea de a gandi creativ si deosebit,

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

nu mai stiu sa viseze. Astfel ca aceste scoli din Ivy League,

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

plus Oxford si Cambridge si altele, incep sa transmita un mesaj

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

parintilor si elevilor, si anume ca trebuie sa reduca putin viteza.

And in Harvard, for instance, they send out

Harvard, spre exemplu, a trimis o scrisoare

a letter to undergraduates -- freshmen --

studentilor de anul I,

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

in care li se spunea ca o sa primeasca mai mult de la viata si de la Harvard

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

daca incetinesc. Daca fac mai putine lucruri,

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

dar dau lucrurilor timp, timpul de care au ele nevoie,

to enjoy them, to savor them.

ca sa se bucure de ele, sa le savureze.

And even if they sometimes do nothing at all.

Chiar daca asta inseamna sa nu faca nimic uneori.

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

Iar acea scrisoare se numeste, foarte potrivit zic eu,

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

"Ia-o mai incet!", cu semnul exclamarii la sfarsit.

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

Oriunde ne uitam, mesajul este acelasi, in opinia mea.

that less is very often more,

Mai putin reprezinta adesea mai mult,

that slower is very often

mai incet este de multe ori

better. But that said, of course,

mai bine. Dar acestea fiind zise,

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

nu ne este asa usor sa incetinim, nu?

I mean, you heard that I got a speeding ticket

Vreau sa zic, ati auzit ca am luat o amenda pentru viteza

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

in timp ce faceam cercetare pentru cartea mea cu beneficiile incetinirii,

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

si e adevarat, dar nu e tot.

I was actually en route to a dinner

Ma indreptam de fapt spre o cina

held by Slow Food at the time.

tinuta de cei de la Mancare Lenta.

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

Si daca toate astea n-ar fi destul de stanjenitoare, am primit amenda in Italia.

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

Daca vreunul dintre voi a condus pe o autostrada in Italia,

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

aveti o idee in legatura cu ce viteza aveam.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

But why is it so hard to slow down?

Dar de ce ne e asa de greu sa incetinim?

I think there are various reasons.

Cred ca sunt diverse motive.

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

Unul este ca viteza e distractiva, stiti, viteza e sexy.

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

E vorba de aportul de adrenalina. E greu sa renuntam la el.

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

Cred ca exista si o dimensiune metafizica,

that speed becomes a way of walling ourselves off

viteza devine modul nostru de a ne izola

from the bigger, deeper questions.

fata de intrebarile mai mari, mai adanci.

We fill our head with distraction, with busyness,

Ne umplem mintile cu ceea ce ne distrage atentia, ne tine ocupati,

so that we don't have to ask,

ca nu fim nevoiti sa ne intrebam

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

sunt bine? Sunt fericit? Imi cresc copiii asa cum trebuie?

Are politicians making good decisions on my behalf?

Politicienii iau decizii bune in numele meu?

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

Un alt motiv, care cred eu ca e cel mai puternic,

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

pentru care ne vine greu sa o luam mai incet, este tabuul cultural

that we've erected against slowing down.

pe care l-am ridicat in jurul incetinirii.

"Slow" is a dirty word in our culture.

"Incet" este un cuvant murdar in cultura noastra.

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

Este sinonim cu "lenes", "indolent",

for being somebody who gives up.

cu un om care renunta usor.

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

Cum se zice, "E putin mai incet." Este de fapt sinonim

with being stupid.

cu a fi prost.

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

Cred ca Miscarea Lentorii, sau de fapt scopul ei,

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

obiectivul ei principal, este sa sfarame acest tabu,

and to say that yes,

si sa ne spuna ca de fapt da,

sometimes slow is not the answer,

uneori incetineala nu este -- raspunsul,

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

ca exista "incetineala rea".

You know, I got stuck on the M25,

Stiti ca -- am ramas blocat recent pe M25,

which is a ring road around London, recently,

care este un drum inel in jurul Londrei, de curand,

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

si am stat trei ore si jumatate acolo. Si pot sa va spun,

that's really bad slow.

asta e o incetineala foarte rea.

But the new idea,

Dar ideea noua,

the sort of revolutionary idea, of the Slow Movement,

ideea revolutionara a Miscarii Lentorii,

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

este aceea ca exista si "incetineli bune".

And good slow is, you know, taking the time

Ele inseamna sa ne facem timp

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

sa mancam cu familia, cu televizorul stins.

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

Sau sa ne facem timp sa privim problemele din toate unghiurile

in the office to make the best decision

in birou si sa luam cea mai buna decizie

at work.

la locul de munca.

Or even simply just taking the time

Sau poate doar sa ne facem timp

to slow down

sa o luam mai incet

and savor your life.

si sa savuram viata.

Now, one of the things that I found most uplifting

Cel mai inaltator lucru pe care l-am descoperit

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

legat de ce s-a intamplat cu cartea

since it came out, is the reaction to it.

de la aparitia ei, a fost reactia pe care a starnit-o.

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

Stiam ca atunci cand va aparea cartea mea despre incetineala,

it would be welcomed by the New Age brigade,

va fi salutata de brigada New Age,

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

dar ea a fost acceptata cu mult entuziasm

by the corporate world -- you know,

si de lumea corporatista, stiti, de presa

business press, but also

de afaceri dar si de

big companies and leadership organizations.

marile companii si de organizatiile de leadership.

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

Si asta pentru ca oamenii din varful piramidei, oameni ca voi, cred eu,

are starting to realize that there's too much

incep sa inteleaga ca exista prea multa

speed in the system,

viteza in sistem,

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

prea multa agitatie, si ca este timpul sa descoperim

or get back to that lost art of shifting gears.

sau sa revenim la arta pierduta a schimbarii vitezelor.

Another encouraging sign, I think,

Un alt semnal incurajator, cred,

is that it's not just in the developed world

este ca aceasta idee nu a fost adoptata

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

numai in zonele dezvoltate ale lumii. In cele in curs de dezvoltare,

in countries that are on the verge of making that leap

in tarile care sunt pe cale sa faca saltul

into first world status -- China, Brazil,

in categoria tarilor dezvoltate, China, Brazilia,

Thailand, Poland, and so on --

Tailanda, Polonia si asa mai departe,

these countries have embraced the idea of the Slow Movement,

in aceste tari a fost adoptata Miscarea Lentorii

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

de catre multi oameni si a aparut o dezbatere

in their media, on the streets.

in mass-media lor, pe strazi.

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

Pentru ca eu cred ca se uita spre Vest si isi spun

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

"Uite, ne place aceasta parte din ceea ce aveti voi,

but we're not so sure about that."

dar nu suntem prea siguri de aceasta."

So all of that said, is it,

Acestea fiind zise, este

I guess, is it possible?

oare, este posibil?

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

Aceasta e principala intrebare pe care ne-o punem astazi.

to slow down? And

Este posibil sa incetinim?

I'm happy to be able to say to you

Si eu sunt fericit sa va spun ca raspunsul

that the answer is a resounding yes.

este un DA rasunator.

And I present myself as Exhibit A,

Eu sunt dovada A,

a kind of reformed and rehabilitated

un dependent de viteza

speed-aholic.

oarecum reformat si reabilitat.

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

Inca iubesc viteza. Stiti, eu stau in Londra

and I work as a journalist,

si lucrez ca jurnalist,

and I enjoy the buzz and the busyness,

si imi place zumzetul si agitatia

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

si aportul de adrenalina pe care le aduc amandoua.

I play squash and ice hockey,

Joc squash si hochei pe gheata,

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

doua sporturi foarte rapide, si n-as renunta la ele pentru nimic in lume.

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

Dar in ultimul an, am inceput sa

got in touch with my inner tortoise.

restabilesc legatura cu broasca testoasa din mine.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

And what that means is that

Asta inseamna ca,

I no longer

de la o vreme,

overload myself gratuitously.

nu ma mai supraincarc fara sens.

My default mode is no longer

Nu mai functionez automat

to be a rush-aholic.

ca un dependent de graba.

I no longer hear

Nu mai aud

time's winged chariot drawing near,

carul inaripat al timpului cum se apropie,

or at least not as much as I did before.

sau cel putin nu atat cat il auzeam inainte.

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

De fapt pot sa-l aud acum, pentru ca vad cum mi se termina timpul.

And the upshot of all of that is that

Iar partea buna a acestui lucru este ca

I actually feel a lot happier, healthier,

ma simt chiar mult mai fericit, mai sanatos,

more productive than I ever have.

mai productiv decat oricand.

I feel like I'm living

Simt ca imi traiesc viata

my life rather than actually just racing through it.

in loc sa alerg prin ea.

And perhaps, the most important

Si poate cel mai important

measure of the success of this

indicator al acestui fapt este

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

ca simt ca relatiile mele sunt mai profunde,

richer, stronger.

mai bogate, mai puternice.

And for me, I guess, the litmus test

Iar pentru mine, testul cu turnesol, sa zicem,

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

care imi arata daca functioneaza si ce semnifica,

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

il reprezinta povestile de adormit copiii, pentru ca de fapt

the journey began. And there too the news is

de acolo a pornit toata aventura. Si acolo vestile

rosy. You know,

sunt de asemenea bune, stiti,

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

la sfarsitul zilei, merg in camera fiului meu.

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

Nu port ceas. Imi inchid calculatorul,

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

asa ca nu pot auzi cand imi vine un e-mail,

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

si incetinesc pana la ritmul lui si citim.

And because children have their own tempo and internal clock,

Si pentru ca toti copiii au ceasul lor intern si ritmul lor,

they don't do quality time,

copiii nu acorda "timp de calitate"

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

cand iti planifici 10 minute ca ei sa se deschida in fata ta.

They need you to move at their rhythm.

Ei au nevoie ca tu sa te misti in ritmul lor.

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

Am vazut ca la 10 minute dupa ce am inceput o poveste,

my son will suddenly say, "You know,

fiul meu imi spune dintr-odata

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

"Stii, mi s-a intamplat ceva la joaca si m-a suparat tare."

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

Si incepem sa conversam pe tema asta.

And I now find that bedtime stories

Si acum imi da seama ca povestile de seara

used to be

obisnuiau sa fie un fel de

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

casuta pe care trebuia s-o bifez, ceva de care mi-era groaza,

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

pentru ca erau lente si trebuia sa trec repede peste ele.

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

Au devenit rasplata mea la sfarsitul zilei,

something I really cherish.

ceva ce am ajuns sa pretuiesc mult.

And I have a kind of Hollywood ending

Am un fel de final de Hollywood

to my talk this afternoon,

pentru discursul din aceasta dupa-amiaza,

which goes a little bit like this:

care suna cam asa.

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

Acum cateva luni, ma pregateam sa plec

another book tour, and I had my bags packed.

intr-un alt turneu cu cartea, si aveam gentile pregatite.

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

Eram jos, in fata usii, asteptam un taxi,

and my son came down the stairs and

si a coborat fiul meu pe scari si

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

imi facuse o felicitare. Si o luase cu el.

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

Prinsese cu capse doua cartonase, cam ca astea,

and put a sticker of his favorite

si pusese un abtibild cu personajul lui preferat,

character, Tintin, on the front.

Tintin, pe fata.

And he said to me,

Si mi-a zis,

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

sau mi-a dat-o si eu am citit-o,

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

scria "Pentru tati, cu drag Benjamin."

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

Si m-am gandit "Ce dragut,

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

e o felicitare sa-mi poarte noroc in turneu?"

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

Si el a zis "Nu, nu, nu, tati -- este o felicitare

for being the best story reader in the world."

pentru ca esti cel mai bun cititor de povesti din lume."

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

Si m-am gandit, "Da, stii, treaba asta cu incetinitul chiar functioneaza."

Thank you very much.

Va multumesc foarte mult.