By : Timothy W. Shire
For this week I have been making my daily dash down to the post office on my wife's mountain bike and I have made some interesting discoveries. With the roomy environment of a car or the van encasing me the world and is wonders are a much different place and that change in perspective is an eye and ear opener
The picture above was taken at 5:00 on Wednesday afternoon and I suspect when you look at it you will not notice anything special but indeed there is an normal element missing in this picture and that is why I captured this image. No trucks!
When I turned onto main street from the four way stop the lane beside me was occupied by a grain "B" train and though I have done that many times in the van that massive vehicle rolling along beside me and me on two spoky wheels gave me a definite pause.
You will often hear people refer to "the pace of life today" as though it were a single meaningful word and it is often related to the hectic situation either that person is having or the way life seems elsewhere. With the shift to secondary industries and agriculture in such a marginal situation even on a calm easy going day for many "pace of life today" is definitely in fast forward mode. I have also detected that at various times during the day and on specific days of the week that pace picks up and people drive a little more aggressively and show just a degree or two of increased intensity. This really shows up with me poking along in the van looking for a good picture and often driving below the normal flow of traffic speed. Of course this occurs on the bicycle as well because my low endurance will not allow me to accelerate and maintain regular street speeds for a sustained time.
The question is, are we living in a time when things are speeding up? The answer is embedded in perspective and is "no". The feeling or belief that things are exerting more pressure relates to the individual's own life conditions. It is an internal condition that is exhibited by physical behaviour. If people are feeling a little tense they will act a little tense and financial pressure and competition for time are contributing factors to that internal detection system.
When we first moved to Tisdale in 1995 I spotted this lady strolling meaningful, well dressed and always carrying a bag. On many occasions I observed her moving from one side of the town to the other. I have never met or talked to her but only seen her from a block or so away. But her deliberate and steady progress to and from work each day holds the key to a stable and positive outlook on existence. With out every having spoken to her I can say for certain she has her life under control. Her steady pace each day indicates she has things planned, organised and designed to give her the time necessary to go to work and return from work without the use of a car. She never hurries or lagers, her movement displays her frame of mind and it is positive.