World Enough & Time, by Christian McEwen
The subtitle of this intriguing book, “On Creativity and Slowing Down,” makes it clear what the title alludes to: the cost of our culture’s “hurry sickness” on our creative energy, the very spirit that makes life rewarding, worth living. As poet and teacher Christian McEwen writes:
My own interest in slowing down came from a very different place [than that of the slow food/slow living movements]: less practical and product-oriented altogether. From the beginning, I was concerned with how slowness might intersect with happiness, and then again with creativity. I wanted to explore the space in which small, almost invisible habits might have the chance to flourish, seeing them as nourishment both in terms of “making,” and as an antidote to our usual frantic rush. Like the English composer Brian Eno, I wanted to find a way of living in “a Big Here and a Long Now.” It was obvious from the start that this would not be easy.
McEwen hooked me from that paragraph, first for that space she envisions where small habits that would nourish our inner creative selves can flourish. As one who continually wrestles with finding a sustainable rhythm for my life, I love that she’s not promising anything big or dramatic or instant, instead focusing on the “almost invisible,” the learnings we might overlook. Second, I love the dry humor in that last line. Oh, yes. Finding the space to slow down and live in a “Big Here” and a “Long Now” is definitely not easy in our culture, dominated as it is by instant gratification, and “hurry sickness.”
She lays out a path for finding world enough and time to nurture one’s authentic inner life in chapters that weave insights from creatives past and present, people as diverse as Adrienne Rich and Walt Whitman, and Alice Walker and the Sixth century Welsh poet Taliesin, as well as McEwen’s friends and contemporaries–some well-known, some not, along with memoir vignettes from McEwen’s quietly remarkable life.
Reading the chapter titles in the table of contents made me want to dive right in, and gulp the book down:
Hurry Sickness
The Infinitely Healing Conversation
Child Time
In Praise of Walking
The Art of Looking
The Intensest Rendezvous
A Feast of Words
The Space Between
Learning to Pause
Across the Bridge of Dreams
A Universe of Stories
A Day So Happy
But I couldn’t. There is too much in each to savor and consider, to let sit and “compost” in the back of the mind. So I slowed down and gave the book the time it deserved.
In the manner of a workshop, McEwen ends each chapter with “Tactics,” suggestions for ways to practice the lessons learned within, followed by two quotations for rumination during that practice. My favorite of these quotes comes at the end of my favorite chapter, “A Universe of Stories:”
‘Remember only this one thing,’ said Badger. ‘The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.’ (Barry Lopez)
This is a book to sip, to savor, to digest slowly. I’d recommend spreading each chapter over a month for a year-long “course” in learning your own rhythm and finding the space you need to nurture your own “world enough and time.” As McEwen writes:
As we follow in these artists’ footsteps, reading, writing, dreaming, telling stories, it should gradually become apparent that through the door of the ordinary, when treated with curiosity and respect, the extraordinary can appear: a song, a tale, a painting, a new poem. [emphasis in original]
“Through the door of the ordinary… the extraordinary can appear.” Only if we take it slowly. Which of course is the whole point.
I’m working on that. You?
I love the idea of slowing down, Susan, and had it forced upon me to the point of earlly retirement in disability. Even though life is slower now, I struggle with the feeling of “lazy” in slowing down. That’s a difficult cultural and familial thing to overcome. I’m not sure if it’s more stressful racing around (as if I could) or feeling like I need to do more in spite of going slower.
Sam, I sympathize both on the disability and early retirement, and on the struggle to find the pace that nurtures you and doesn’t feel “lazy.” I’d really recommend McEwen’s book; it’s full of insight, inspiration and simple encouragement and support. I think you’ll find much to use in it. But don’t hurry….
Fascinating, Susan! I was reading on my Kindle about this very concept today during a flight back home to Austin from Chicago, in Sarah Bakewell’s marvelous book called HOW TO LIVE: OR A LIFE OF MONTAIGNE. Bakewell notes this quality in Montaigne’s life, and mentions a 1983 German novel by Sten Nadolny called THE DISCOVERY OF SLOWNESS, which I plan to look for.
Lanie, That is synchronicity! The novel sounds quite before its time, and I hope it’s a read that is full of insight. McEwen’s book was certainly that for me, at a time when I really needed and appreciated it. WORLD ENOUGH & TIME is the kind of book I’ll go back to again and again, savoring what I learn each time.
That you mention wanting to “gulp the book down,” immediately caught my attention. Just two sentences later, though, you used the exact word I was thinking of instead: savor.
Slowness intersecting with happiness and creativity; “and world enough and time to nurture one’s authentic inner life”? Of course, I wanna read this, NOW. (Who’s ready to start gulping, now, eh?)
I’m recalling a notion put forth in Benjamin Hoff(?)’s, The Tao of Pooh, that the Western World has all its time-saving devices, yet no time.
Eduardo, Benjamin Hoff had it right in the Tao of Pooh (and things have only gotten worse since he wrote that book!): our culture is rife with time-saving devices, and we’re all the busier for them. So get the book, and don’t gulp it. Savor it, stretch out your time with each chapter until you’ve absorbed its lessons into the deep recesses of your being, and then move on to the next.
Susan,
A wonderful review of what sounds like a thoughtful and inspiring book. I’d say you’re singing to the choir here, because I’ve always been aware of the busy buzz of the world ‘out there’ and the need to slow down and savor the world around me. One way I’ve always done that is walking in the woods, which has led writing a series of essays based on my connections to nature. I will be starting to put those up on my blog very soon, so I hope you’ll check it out.
In the meantime, I wrote a piece a few months ago about the importance of resting. Here’s the link http://sculptingalife.blogspot.com/2012/06/resting-in-between.html
Susan G-T, As I said in my comments on your blog, that’s a lovely and wise post. My wish for all of us is to find ways to incorporate that “between” time, that time to compost and breathe and just let the world fill our pores and restore our souls, into our everyday, ordinary life. Blessings!
as always the teacher leads you to a book when its time is ripe to enter into your life…so glad to call you teacher and friend~ Blessings dear lady and thank you Susan- what a wonderful sounding book- getting it right now
Doc Chery
Doc Chery, this book came at the right time for me, too, so I am glad it is here for you as well. Savor it. There is so much to take in that it asks you to take your time and read it slowly. As I said, I wanted to gulp it, but I found it worked better for me to sip and breathe and think…. Blessings to you!
i downloaded the Kindle sample after your Lifewriters post bfore I ever saw this blogpost. Today I purchased the rest of the book on Kindle after reading the sample, again before I read your post. I’m glad you shared about this book. I have trouble keeping perspective in my life since I am retired (although very busy!) and most of the time do not have the external contraints on my time (as i had with a regular job), yet I have many important tasks to accomplish. There are days that I feel guilty because I don’t seem to have accomplished anything. And there are days when I get all stressed thinking of all things that I need to do. Yesterday I attempted to take the day more slowly, thinking of how I wanted to spend it, and conciously choosing how I was spending my time instead of my usual wheel spinning. Last evening, I took the time to actually review my day and felt a great sense of accomplishment despite never feeling rushed. Today is different with different activities (& yes I do have my list of things that MUST get done by a set date), but I am living it knowing that all that needs to be done will be accomplished as I have the advantage of choosing just what i think is important for this moment.
Joyce, I think you are one of the most focused people I know, and I am in awe of your ability to pursue your spiritual “calling” even as you manage your health and keep up with your family. I think that your example of spending a day conscious of how you use your time is part of what McEwen is getting at in her book, along with a deeper message that we on a personal level and as a culture re-evaluate what we value, and make changes so that we’re using our time in ways that promote a more thoughtful and aware–and happier existence. Good for you for starting on that!