The Slow Lane

Sometimes as I think about the adventure that we're about to embark upon, I think that "Slow Lane" is just about the last thing that it sounds like. We'll be moving to a new country, learning a foreign language, adjusting to a different culture, switching careers, finding jobs and an apartment, and meeting lots of new people. Sounds hectic!

But what the slow lane is about, at least for me, is trying to really take the time to experience life and to take in what the world has to offer. Too often, my life has gotten into a rut, consisting of simply a rush from one obligation to another, with my mind on either the next thing that I need to be doing, or on what I would rather be doing. Going somewhere unfamiliar is a way to break the cycle and get out of the rut.

But even on vacations, it is all too easy to fall into this trap -- to rush from one sight to the next, worried that I won't be able to see it all. A couple weeks a year of vacation isn't even enough to scratch the surface of what I'd like to see or do in the world.

So where does the slow lane come in? Since we'll have an extra 50 weeks a year to experience the rest of the world, there's no need to rush. We can take it slow and keep our minds on the present moment and really see, hear, taste, smell, and feel the world in a way that would be difficult or impossible as tourists.

This fact really came home to me when I was thinking about our ferry/train trip from Istanbul to Izmir. The trip will take most of a day. At first, this felt like a "wasted" day. But then I realized that we have all the time in the world. So we can sit back on the train, relax, take in the countryside, meet people, and enjoy a meal or two (supposedly the food is quite good on Turkish trains!), without feeling like we're missing anything. To me, that's the slow lane.