Slow down and listen

I recently was looking at an article from Ichak Adizes who commented on the speed of life:

‘I am discovering new addictions as technology advances to “serve” me, and I became aware that I am increasingly losing control over my life.

There is a Zen story that illuminates this point: A peasant walks down the road holding a rope in his hand. At the other end of the rope a cow is tied. “Why do you allow the cow to control you?” a passer by asks him. “It is not controlling me. I am in control,” he replies. “If you are in control, why don’t you let go of the rope than ?” he is challenged.

What you control also controls you. It is never a one-way street.

The same is true of new technological advances. They make our lives more pleasant, granted, but the more pleasant their contribution the more dependent on them we become, sometimes to the point of addiction: We can’t live without them. For the full article‘

My teenage daughter I suspect has an ‘addiction’ to technology… Her texting bill is massive, and she is often connected in six ways at once, facebook, myspace, skype, MSN, hotmail and SMS. (What ever happened to the phone) I perhaps am not the best role model for this. I find I cannot be with out my iPhone which gives me all the information I ‘need’ instantly. I have taken many breaks recently without my laptop – one a 10 day experience which I will start sharing soon. So if I’m not setting a good example… Who is?

With my daughter I went to discover another way of life…. Just for a day. But enough to get us thinking because life was once not so fast paced.  There was an old world in Australia that dates back 10,000 years. Where people listened deeply to the world around them, they could see the subtleties in nature and in so doing they lead a prosperous and fulfilling life. All this changed when white settlers arrived in Botany Bay – small pox killing more than half of the local indigenous people within a few short years.

We had the opportunity and privilege of discovering what this world might have been like. Evan is an Aboriginal descendant and Blue Mountains born and bred, gave us an insight into the peacefulness of this long lost world.

This is an experience where you SLOW down, you listen to nature and learn about what the bush offers us. From medicines to dream time stories – listening to the trees and understanding the stories. To tread on this earth is to step quietly into another world.

Do this experience if you want to enter a quiet place, a world that is far away and yet so relevant. For my teenage daughter and I it was a time of reflection and understanding. A time to look at what is really important.

This working trip takes you into the beautiful bushlands, to sacred places filled with stories and artwork, we created our own works of art from ochres, told stories by a fire side and imagined what life might have been like.

An educational experience of discovery. Be prepared to listen, not just to Evan our very informed host, but to the bush itself. It gave us a very different perspective on our very busy – technology addicted lives.