Everything in this twenty-first century is so fast! Too fast for my old soul which still loves the idea of travelling for months on the ocean from one continent to another. I feel more at home when I read a book on a train to a new destination since it takes double the time to get there. The one thing that saddens me about modern civilization is the idea of hurrying along with everything. It takes away the joy of journeying.
The beautiful and therapeutic experience of passing tree after tree whilst wondering at the artistic nature of the Creator as one to a destination is simply not cherished anymore! My heart shatters at the reality that as time goes by, the experience of slowing down is becoming a privilege and not a right. For me, it should be a right to take time at living, better yet, living slowly! It should not be an experience that should be packaged as a paid retreat or vacation; but alas, here we are, rushing off to somewhere to do something to attain happiness which could be, in my humble opinion, done by simply slowing down.
Read – Travelling – An Article by Henry Ngeli, Zambia
One of my earliest and fondest memories is that of my mother and me in a sleeper couch, with a rice-and-chicken filled lunch box which I salivated for because the aroma of the food wafted in our little space, tempting my taste buds making my little stomach feel hungrier than normal. It seemed unfortunate that I had to wait for the right time to eat on our longer-than-usual journey between Harare and Bulawayo. On my mother’s word, I suppressed the temptation to eat after the warning from my mother that I would regret it if I ate too soon. Of course, her warning made sense to my young mind later on when I was truly hungry and we were still on the journey. Nonetheless, I don’t know if she did it to distract me or if she had planned it to be part of our journey but she made me look outside and admire the trees that seemed to be passing us by, as it seemed to me. It was then that she would say, “But trees do not move, little lady!” She then laughed lovingly at me and made me realize that it was I who was rather moving in the big train. Though now, I am aware that travelling by train is slow (at least in my part of Africa it still is). At the age of four, I was blown away with amazement at how fast a tree I chose to look at zoomed out of sight.
Only now as an adult do I fully appreciate the lessons I gained from those train trips with my mother.
Slow travel helps one to truly appreciate the wonder of Mother Nature. It also has the effect of slowing down the mind and soul, thus relaxing the body. Thoughts in one’s mind get enough time to gather and be organized accordingly. I have been on a bus as it passed from town to town, with sceneries changing as they should along the way. When I consciously acknowledge the sites and all that I see along the way, I feel the true essence of life and the beauty of being alive and living.
Read – Falling Wind – An Article by Justin Nagundi, Uganda
For children, there is often an impatience to get to a destination where, they suppose, the adventure whould begin. The incessant question known to be a fan-favourite amongst kids is, “Are we there yet?” Even Ice-Cube the American Hip hop artist and filmmaker produced a comedy movie with this common phrase as the title. Whilst often the destination can be the ultimate source of adventure, many-a-time in reality, there can be more adventure and discovery in the process of going through a journey to the destination. I strongly believe that it is up to the adults to teach young ones that time taken to reach a place is not time endured but time enjoyed.
There is fun to be had with meeting other people in slow-moving transport. For instance, one time my students and I used the overnight train from Windhoek to Swakopmund (an otherwise 3-hour road trip). They decided to play the fast-thinking, fast-talking board game of 30 Seconds onboard. Onboard were also 2 little girls; sisters who for most of the game watched, laughed, and clapped with us but never really participated. Then the most incredible thing happened in one team, a team member could not answer the simple clue of where Jesus was born! The youngest of the two sisters almost went blue in the face and swung her little fisted hands in frustration not wanting to spoil the game because her big sister had told her that she could not share answers. On noticing the little girl’s frustration, I suggested that my students should let her say her answer. I have never heard anyone scream, “Bethlehem!” with such joy and fervour. Everyone cheered and clapped hands for her and she earned herself, not only the nickname of Bethlehem but also a space in one of the teams together with her sister and the others to look up to. No face could ever have shown such self-pride!
The mother, of course, was happy to see her child use her otherwise unsettling energy to display such intelligence, which she admitted, “would often seem like she just wants to challenge others.” Yet here was smart little Miss Bethlehem, who discovered her love for games that give general knowledge clues on a long journey to a close destination.
Read – Dreams of Tomorrow – An Article by Alliance Ankiambom, Cameroon
It’s sad how we are always in a hurry as if we have a timer on our backs telling us that we need to get to somewhere before we are too old, too tired, or irrelevant. The lies we believe from other human beings who have their life issues to deal with and most of the time hurry us along to insidious profit-making goals which have little care of what is important for the human’s mind and soul.
Life is a journey we are on from day to day; does it not make sense to savor the moments we get to slow down and reconnect with our true and inner selves?
My dear reader, all I can ask of you is that we take our time to make this life journey worth travelling in order to get to our ultimate destination, which none of us can escape.
This article was published in the April 2022 edition of the WSA magazine.
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