“Research has shown that people think more creatively when they are calm, unhurried and free from stress, and that time pressure leads to tunnel vision.” (Carl Honoré. In Praise of Slowness. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004, p. 121.)
I have experienced this reality in retreat settings. When I occasionally step out of the normal patterns and pressures of my day-to-day life, I find that good ideas come to the surface or, to change the metaphor, I can see much deeper into calm water than into turbulent water. In my minds eye, I remember days fishing with my grandfather on the creeks of Southern Oregon. At some points, the creek would rush down an incline. I could hardly make out any detail in the creek bed. But then there would be those spots with the water ran deep and slow. I could see clearly ten or fifteen feet below me. Honoré goes on to say:
“My eureka moments seldom come in a fast-paced office or a high-stress meeting. More often they occur when I am in a relaxed state—soaking in the bath, cooking a meal or even jogging in the park. The greatest thinkers in history certainly knew the value of shifting the mind into low gear. Charles Darwin described himself as a ‘slow thinker.’ Albert Einstein was famous for spending ages staring into space in his office at Princeton University. In the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes weighs up the evidence from crime scenes by entering a quasi-meditative state, ‘with a dreamy vacant expression in his eyes.’” (Honoré, p. 121.)
I do a lot of cycling. You don’t climb steep grade in high gear. Solving tough problems, coming up with creative ideas, gathering insight into thorny issues requires low gear and a slower ascent.
A key focus of healthy unhurry is that it isn’t self-focused free time. It is a God-focused lifestyle of walking and working with Him. We aren’t unhurried for ourselves, but for God’s pleasure and for the good of others. Realizing that Jesus lived an unhurried life will enable us to walk at the same pace as Him.
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Unhurriedness provokes creativity. That’s probably true; yet, it smacks me in the face as I count-down ’till the due-dates of projects that are creative expressions. I struggle with the dynamic tension of deadlines and creative process.
Well said Dale. There is, so to speak, a creative tension between an unhurried heart and practical deadlines. I find that intentional practices that help me be less anxious and rushed within help me find the creativity I need for the projects before. Definitely an art though.
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