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Slow Time: Recovering the Natural Rhythm of Life
Slow Time offers an oasis of quiet and renewal in a world that demands constant productivity 24/7. Waverly Fitzgerald examines the history of time with chapters that expand from the moment to the lifetime. Examples and exercises invite readers to consider the ways familial, cultural and religious expectations shape their experience with time. Personal anecdotes and stories from world cultures illustrate the richness and variety of the ways people have moved through time over centuries and around the globe. Fitzgerald is a skillful and thorough guide for anyone who would like to enjoy a more spacious sense of life.
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2011
About the author
Waverly Fitzgerald
17 books44 followersI'm a writer, teacher and publisher, calendar creator and advocate for slow time.
I've written 14 novels and 9 are published under 3 names. I write humorous mysteries with Curt Colbert under the name Waverly Curtis. I write historical fiction and non-fiction under the name Waverly Fitzgerald. And my historical romances were first published under Nancy Fitzgerald. I occasionally blog for the Seattle PI as the Urban Naturalist. And i write about slow time and seasonal time at my website Living in Season.
I read fiction to learn more about how to write the novels I love, so I am generally reading historical fiction and mysteries. In non-fiction, I like almost anything that teaches me something, with a special emphasis on topics I am writing about in my fiction (Victorian London, the English Civil War) or essays (flowers, family history, walking). And I love memoirs.
I've written 14 novels and 9 are published under 3 names. I write humorous mysteries with Curt Colbert under the name Waverly Curtis. I write historical fiction and non-fiction under the name Waverly Fitzgerald. And my historical romances were first published under Nancy Fitzgerald. I occasionally blog for the Seattle PI as the Urban Naturalist. And i write about slow time and seasonal time at my website Living in Season.
I read fiction to learn more about how to write the novels I love, so I am generally reading historical fiction and mysteries. In non-fiction, I like almost anything that teaches me something, with a special emphasis on topics I am writing about in my fiction (Victorian London, the English Civil War) or essays (flowers, family history, walking). And I love memoirs.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 27, 2019
The first thing that comes to mind is the many, many typos.
It's not my type of book but I read it (and skimmed some parts) in hopes of learning new things. But that really didn't happen because when something doesn't hold my interest, it's difficult for me to focus.
I did learn or like some things and here they are:
- I've spent most of my life feeling deprived of time. It seemed I never had enough time for the activities most important to me: creativity, visiting friends, travel, exercise, reading, dancing.
- I realized that I was not making any progress, trying to corral time into neat little boxes on my schedule. Time was much more fluid and mysterious than I had imagined.
- I was trying to control time rather than letting it flow.
- We have been trained to believe that faster is better. Living this way alienates us from our environment and causes physical and spiritual distress.
- A strong positive or negative reaction to something is an important clue. What we resist most usually produce the biggest insights when finally tackled.
- We speak of time as if it were outside of us, something we can save or spend, waste or kill. But time is a product of the mind. People invented time to organize things. Your attitude about time might tell you a lot about your attitude towards life.
- Don't try to control time--you can't Approach time with a relaxed attitude rather than a hostile one.
- The beliefs behind "I never finish all the items on my to-do list" might include:
1. I underestimate the time it takes to things, especially creative projects.
2. I don't allow for transition or down time between tasks.
3. I have unrealistic expectations of what I can do in a day. OR I have been gifted with more abundance than I can comfortably fit into a day.
- Some ways to slow down are a nap, a bath instead of a shower, listen to your body.
- Population density increases the tempo of life and cuts down on interaction.
- Perhaps I forget things because I'm struggling to manage more data than my brain can handle.
- *During the time we are in the womb, our forming bones and tissues take on an energy imprint of the environmental fields in the area where we are born. Forever after we are harmonically linked with our place of birth, regardless of where we are on earth.*
- Our personal tempo can often cause problems between couples.
- Sometimes the best way to tackle something is to stop doing it.
- The rhythm of taking a day off every week creates a sense of spaciousness in time.
-
It's not my type of book but I read it (and skimmed some parts) in hopes of learning new things. But that really didn't happen because when something doesn't hold my interest, it's difficult for me to focus.
I did learn or like some things and here they are:
- I've spent most of my life feeling deprived of time. It seemed I never had enough time for the activities most important to me: creativity, visiting friends, travel, exercise, reading, dancing.
- I realized that I was not making any progress, trying to corral time into neat little boxes on my schedule. Time was much more fluid and mysterious than I had imagined.
- I was trying to control time rather than letting it flow.
- We have been trained to believe that faster is better. Living this way alienates us from our environment and causes physical and spiritual distress.
- A strong positive or negative reaction to something is an important clue. What we resist most usually produce the biggest insights when finally tackled.
- We speak of time as if it were outside of us, something we can save or spend, waste or kill. But time is a product of the mind. People invented time to organize things. Your attitude about time might tell you a lot about your attitude towards life.
- Don't try to control time--you can't Approach time with a relaxed attitude rather than a hostile one.
- The beliefs behind "I never finish all the items on my to-do list" might include:
1. I underestimate the time it takes to things, especially creative projects.
2. I don't allow for transition or down time between tasks.
3. I have unrealistic expectations of what I can do in a day. OR I have been gifted with more abundance than I can comfortably fit into a day.
- Some ways to slow down are a nap, a bath instead of a shower, listen to your body.
- Population density increases the tempo of life and cuts down on interaction.
- Perhaps I forget things because I'm struggling to manage more data than my brain can handle.
- *During the time we are in the womb, our forming bones and tissues take on an energy imprint of the environmental fields in the area where we are born. Forever after we are harmonically linked with our place of birth, regardless of where we are on earth.*
- Our personal tempo can often cause problems between couples.
- Sometimes the best way to tackle something is to stop doing it.
- The rhythm of taking a day off every week creates a sense of spaciousness in time.
-
March 1, 2009
This book is different than I expected it to be. The author frequently refers to her Planner Pad and focuses heavily on time management. I thought the focus would be on slowing down and living mindfully. There are some very interesting sections on the origins of artificial time constructs, however. I also thought there would be more info about how different cultures perceive time and their lifestyles, and this info could be there, I just may have not reached it yet.
September 6, 2011
I found this totally charming and unique book recommended on the blog of Lyanda Lynn Haupt, who wrote Crow Planet, one of my favorite reads so far this year. (So thank you, Lyanda--you are not only an awesome writer but an awesome recommender, if that is a word.) Slow Time is one of those books that, as soon as I finished, I wanted to begin reading again from page 1. Partly because there are such thoughtful activities at the end of each chapter; I didn't do any of them, but I plan to, and I imagine that reading the book more slowly and stopping to do the exercises Waverley Fitzgerald recommends would make a whole different, and equally excellent, reading experience. Partly, as well, because there is just so much here: the book is, kind of obviously, about time--but time from many, many different perspectives, defined in many ways. Fitzgerald writes about phases of the moon, astrology, how the calendar was invented and developed, seasons, holidays (both conventional and un-), and more. I wanted to take notes, and I did sometimes, but mostly I wanted just to read and enjoy what I was learning. As a whole, the book is such a refreshingly different take on a subject many people (including me) find stressful, and a gentle nudge to consider (and live in) time in a new way from the traditional, calendar-based one which tends to be the norm.
October 20, 2011
This is a tough one for me, as I don't believe that I'm really the demographic she was writing to. I chose the book. Based on an article on her web site on Pagan Lent which I found to be excellent. However, this book sort of left me cold. I admit, I didn't do all or even most of the exercises, relying more on taking in what insight I could find. The book speaks far more to middle-aged females, in spite of the fact that men might benefit from this too. She walks a precariously close line to "new age bullcrap", particularly near the end where she falls into astrology to explain possible correlations in life. I prefer to read good insights and logically constructed advice rather than Oprah worthy Mumbo-jumbo. To be fair, there is a lot of worthwhile material here; the problem is it loses validity when she wanders into less scholarly realms.
September 21, 2010
I am breaking my own rule, here, giving a star-rating to a book by a friend. I am making an exception because this book is exceptional. I have read many, many time-management books. They mostly suck. Because, as Waverly says, "You can't manage time." So true. But you CAN keep time from managing you, and that's what this book does. I'm working my way through this book, chapter-by-chapter, exercise-by-exercise, over a period of three months. SLOW TIME is changing my teaching, my thinking, the very rhythm of my life.
November 26, 2013
Waverly Fitzgerald's book is full of tenderness. With gentle nudges, she guides you to tend your own rhythms and nature, and along the way you will loosen the hurry rushing through your life. Mysteries will be revealed, such as the importance of the waxing and waning moon on finishing projects, and how designating an ideal schedule will create more time for yourself. If you want to take control of your life, Fitzgerald’s lovely, enchanting book will help.
May 21, 2008
Finally have moved into reading this book. It is never going to be the PERFECT time. I am doing it anyway. Finished chapter 1, partway through Chapter 2, enjoying it, but not always liking what I am finding out about myself.
December 22, 2008
This is a great book for those interested in taking back control of your life.
It is a great book for groups as well as individuals. It is a book that should find a wide audience in this unsettling financial atmosphere.
It is a great book for groups as well as individuals. It is a book that should find a wide audience in this unsettling financial atmosphere.
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February 16, 2008Available for free download one chapter per month at http://www.slowtimebook.com/
June 11, 2009
I want to read this book. I've been a follower of Waverly Fitzgerald's School of the Seasons for some time now.
April 16, 2011
Liked it quite a bit. Some really good exercises in here and Ms. Fitzgerald's School of the Seasons has always been inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews