Meaning and translation of the expression festina lente. Hurry slowly

Excessive speed will make you miss important details, when they can make all the difference. Hurry slowly, move towards your goal surely and steadily. Pay attention to everything, don't rush things, and you will become a winner.

Interpretation of the law

Every person has ever heard the words of old people in some situation: “The slower you go, the further you will go.” “From the goal,” he adds and chuckles, although he knows that “he who laughs last laughs best.”

But everyone has encountered situations in their life when they make a decision after thinking everything through well. It seems that all options have been studied, all methods have been tested, but in reality it only seems to a person. As soon as he made a decision, calmed down and began to implement it, a completely different, simpler and more effective way of solving it clearly appears, or the situation changes in such a way that something that was previously closed becomes possible. We just needed to wait a little longer.

The ability to wait, not to rush things, to wait for the desired result is comparable to perseverance, when a person strives with all his might to achieve his goal and does not accept any offers in return for what he expects. This has nothing to do with an inability to compromise. This is reasonable tolerance, the ability, among all kinds of obstacles, to discern one’s goal and the opportunity to achieve it.

Anyone who does not agree to accept a fake, but can show patience and sufficient persistence, will definitely receive what he needs, exactly what he made the effort for. This is a kind of test of fate for the strength of a person’s desires: does he really want what he declared, what is he willing to sacrifice to get it, is he ready to give at least his time. And fate always rewards the patient, those who showed enough endurance and were able to wait for a favorable time for themselves.

Too many people fail to achieve success not because they lacked knowledge, skills, talent, opportunity or anything else they thought was very important, but because they lacked the patience to wait for the results they wanted. After all, it is important not only to make a bold decision, but also the ability to move towards its implementation, not paying attention to the obstacles that arise, the ability to see in all obstacles only stages on the way to achieving a goal and to see the desired goal achieved.

But if a person has already done everything possible, but success has not come to him, luck has shown him its other side - defeat, what to do in this case? The man had a goal, he was persistent, but it was all in vain - he lost this fight. If a person decided so, then this is how it will actually be; fate will not fail to push him in the back and trip him up so that he falls more painfully.

But in fact, this is only the second series of her test. No, fate is not against this person personally, she is just not yet confident in the strength of his desire, in his ability to wait, and will offer him something like this more than once. If you study the history of any successful enterprise, you can understand that no one achieved success on the first try, but patience, the ability to wait for the moment when a person becomes worthy of what he wants, few of those who started this path, but all who had enough patience , led to the result. Those who wanted everything at once stumbled at the first obstacle and were unable to rise higher.

Image

Ilya Muromets is an epic hero who lay on the stove for 30 years and 3 years, waiting for his finest hour. Many times he had the opportunity to distinguish himself, to show his strength, but this was not the goal of his life. He stood up only when the need for his strength truly arose. When the most favorable situation arose in order to help your compatriots. He did not waste his resources on trifles, did not rush from one thing to another, he lay, accumulated strength, thought and waited.

Evidence of the law

History - our chief judge and adviser - knows many facts when insufficient endurance led to defeat, delayed obtaining the desired results, and deprived people of the opportunity to enjoy them.

How great was the desire of Peter I to move the borders away from Moscow and return the original Russian lands! But by 1700, Russia was not ready for war with Sweden. The army was weak and insufficiently experienced, there was no navy that could support military operations.

As a result, the battle ended in a major defeat, disgrace, almost complete destruction of the Russian army and, most importantly, delaying the desired results for many years. For two decades, the country was in a state of unpleasant proximity, constantly threatening war. Only in 1721 was Russian dominance in the Baltic Sea finally secured.

Another example comes from the history of Russian naval wars. During the Russian-Turkish war for Russia's right to have a fleet on the Black Sea, as soon as Crimea was conquered, the first Black Sea squadron was immediately assigned there. It was not yet a fleet, but only a small squadron, consisting of several battleships and a dozen small vessels.

Unexpectedly, Türkiye announced to Russia its disagreement with the terms of the peace treaty, which was signed following the results of the first Russian-Turkish war. The Black Sea squadron went out to sea to meet the Turkish flotilla. The Baltic Fleet was urgently sent to help.

The Black Sea squadron fortified itself in the Chesme Bay and, invisible from the sea, itself inspected the sea route along which the Turkish flotilla was supposed to move from an advantageous position. The Baltic fleet was delayed, there was no news from it, but the Turkish fleet was already clearly visible on the horizon. It was many times larger than the Russian squadron in terms of numbers and armament.

The small Russian squadron, without waiting for the Baltic, took advantage of the darkness of the night, the storm, the surprise and audacity of its attack, put the half-mercenary Turkish flotilla to flight, but the squadron itself perished. Everything that was called the Black Sea Fleet was destroyed. The war was not over.

An equally striking example is Napoleon. After fleeing the island of Elba, he hastily began to gather people under his banner. He was in a hurry to strengthen his position and regain his former glory. With scattered troops instead of a powerful regular army based on a proven old guard, Napoleon expected more than he could get. He needed time, but he didn't have it.

Many European countries united against - and the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 ended in a sad defeat for the failed king of the world. But all he lacked was time. After this defeat, Napoleon became disillusioned with his fate and surrendered. During his imprisonment on the island of St. Helena, preparations were being made for his abduction and restoration to the throne, but he did not live to see this moment and died.

Who doesn't want to become rich without putting in any effort?! Since ancient times, there have been fairy tales, legends, traditions and all kinds of oral narratives about treasures, mysterious caves filled with riches.

And all this turned out to be not a vain invention: nature really gave people such a wonderful cave. At the end of the 19th century in Alaska, in the area of the Klondike River, a rich gold deposit was discovered. It could be picked up almost with bare hands. The gold rush began. Only the lazy did not go to the Klondike to seek wealth and happiness.

Did they become rich and happy? Here is the story of one American hereditary farmer. Having inherited a farm from his parents. poor, but able to feed his family, the American, following the example of his father, took up farming. In the first year, locusts attacked his crops and destroyed every last blade of grass. The farmer was not upset, collected all his savings, bought seeds for sowing and the next year sowed the field again. But again he was disappointed. The year was so dry that the farmer was unable to harvest enough grain to even feed his family.

The same thing happened in the third and fourth years - and the farmer despaired of harvesting, moreover, his debts were constantly growing, and he could not imagine the possibility of paying them off. Then he sold the farm and went to the Klondike to look for his gold. Here he was lucky - he found a rich vein. He staked out a plot of land, bought the equipment necessary for gold mining and began developing his own vein.

But it ended as suddenly as it began. He dug and dug, took the rock out of the ground and looked for his loss, but all his efforts were in vain - it was as if the vein had never existed. Desperate to find anything, he sold the site along with the equipment, collected everything he had left, and left. Where he went, what happened to him, and how many more such broken destinies history knows is unknown.

But soon the new owner of the farm, while plowing, came across something hard that prevented the plow from moving forward. Having dug out the place with a shovel, the farmer took out a large stone and was about to take it away from the field, but something caught his attention, he picked at the stone and decided to show it to a specialist. The stone turned out to be a diamond. The field, which did not produce a grain harvest, was incredibly rich in diamonds.

What happened to the mine? The new owner invited gold vein engineers, they looked, calculated and found out that that first vein was false, but, as often happens, it showed where very rich gold ore was located. And she was only one and a half meters away from the place where the work ended.

Authoritative opinion

The strongest is the one who controls himself.

Be careful and keep your cool. Having a cool head is as necessary as having a warm heart.
/J. Lubbock/

The highest degree of human wisdom is the ability to adapt to circumstances and remain calm despite external storms.

Many calm rivers begin with noisy waterfalls, but none jump and foam all the way to the sea. But this calmness is often a sign of great, albeit hidden strength: the fullness and depth of feelings and thoughts does not allow frantic impulses.
/M. Yu. Lermontov/

The other side of the law

Yes, you shouldn’t make hasty decisions, but how long should you think? It’s one thing if it is clearly visible that not all the facts have yet been collected, thought through, and taken into account. And it’s completely different if a person has not yet finally decided for himself whether he should do this at all? So, don’t confuse reasonable slowness with indecisiveness.

For a person who takes too long to make his decisions, this can turn into a habit. When a person says: “I’ll finish school, and then I...” Then most likely he will begin to say: “Now I’ll finish college, and then I...” There are an innumerable number of similar reasons; if a person knows at least five of them and uses them whenever possible, this means that the habit has become a character trait and can further develop into indecision, which can no longer be explained or justified.

Indecision, which has become a character trait, every day moves a person further and further away from his goals, and if these goals have not yet been formulated by you, then from making specific decisions. An unfavorable opinion is created about such a subject among the people around him. Companions stop turning to him to find out his opinion, he is pushed further and further away from real actions, and as a result, he looks at life as if from the outside, without actually taking part in it.

Another disadvantage of unjustified delay is that a person can simply get ahead of his competitors or even friends who are guided by far from friendly feelings. The person will, of course, find out how good his friend is, but will he be pleased with the loss of a wide range of opportunities?

Not only people, but also time can play against a person who waits too long. Popular wisdom says: “Catch your luck by the tail,” but you should remember that the tail may turn out to be much shorter than expected. Hoping to have time to find out all sides of the issue, analyze them and only after that make an important decision, you should very carefully monitor the time in order to catch the most favorable moment for fulfilling your plans.

Parable

One day, a little girl, the daughter of one of his colored workers, came to a wealthy plantation owner. The planter was a fierce man of enormous stature. Even his plantation neighbors were afraid of him, not to mention his workers. The girl was small, thin and grimy, like all the children on the plantations.

She approached the owner and squeaked in a thin but firm voice:

- Mom told me to tell you to give her 50 cents.

- Get out, I won't give her anything.

“Yeah,” but the girl didn’t move. The owner became furious and grabbed the log, but the girl stood there and only her eyes widened in horror. Any second something terrible could happen, suddenly the girl screamed shrilly:

– Mom really needs your 50 cents!

The stunned owner lowered the log, took 50 cents out of his pocket, and handed it to the girl without saying a word. The little girl thanked her and ran away.

Hurry up slowly [hurry up]

This expression, as Suetonius reports, was often repeated by the Roman emperor Augustus (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, 63 BC - 14 AD). The French poet and classicist theorist Boileau (1636-1711) introduced this aphorism into his poem (1674) “Poetic Art” (1, 171). Often quoted in Latin: "Festina lente".

- wing. sl. This expression, as Suetonius reports, was often repeated by the Roman Emperor Augustus. The French poet and classicist theorist Boileau introduced this aphorism in his poem “Poetic Art”...
- wing. sl. Make haste slowly This expression, as Suetonius reports, was often repeated by the Roman Emperor Augustus. The French poet and classicist theorist Boileau introduced this aphorism in his poem “Poetic Art”...
Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky
Mikhelson Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (orig. orf.)
- This expression, as Suetonius reports, was often repeated by the Roman Emperor Augustus. The French poet and classicist theorist Boileau introduced this aphorism in his poem "Poetic Art" ...
- From Latin: Festina lente. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, this expression was often repeated by the Roman Emperor Augustus, who was the great-nephew of Gaius Julius Caesar...
Dictionary of popular words and expressions
- Advice to do things quickly enough, but without fuss, which only interferes with the work...
Dictionary of folk phraseology
Mikhelson Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary
- see. Don’t drive with a whip,...
- See TALK -...
V.I. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
- See TIME - MEASURE -...
V.I. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
- It won't be good soon...
V.I. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
- Hurry up while running, and hurry up when chasing...
V.I. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
- adverb, number of synonyms: 4 festina lente don’t do it hastily hurry slowly hurry up slowly...
Dictionary of synonyms
- adverb, number of synonyms: 15 it’s not time yet, it’s too early don’t rush the horses don’t rush don’t fuss don’t fume don’t rush don’t knock your hooves wait wait wait seven times measure...
Dictionary of synonyms
- turn up the heat, more fun, faster, move, turn around, hurry up, quickly, quickly, give up, move, one leg here and the other there, lively, move, one leg here and the other there, quickly...
Dictionary of synonyms
- adverb, number of synonyms: 4 festina lente slowly hurry up don’t do it hastily hurry up slowly...
Dictionary of synonyms

"Hurry slowly [hurry]" in books

Second story. Hurry up slowly

From the book Stories and Tales author Hayko Leonid Dmitrievich

Second story. Hurry slowly The runway (runway) for pilots is as expensive as the cosmodrome for astronauts. There are many of them on our planet and they are different. Some are equipped with modern lighting and electronic equipment. Their precision landing systems

April 11 “Do not be hasty with your tongue”

From the book Without punctuation Diary 1974-1994 author Borisov Oleg Ivanovich

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Rule 4: Take your time

From the book 70 Rules of Defensive Driving by Schaller Robert

Rule 4: Take your time Driving at high speeds puts you at risk twice: firstly, it reduces the time required to react, and secondly, it increases the amount of kinetic energy (that which is released during a collision). You have to decide for

1.3.11. Take your time

From the book Conversations with your Daughter [A Guide for Concerned Fathers] author Kashkarov Andrey Petrovich

1.3.11. Take your time These words are a universal recommendation. We're all in too much of a hurry. And this is unnecessary. Fortune sometimes knocks very quietly. But there is another side. And never be afraid to act. “Don’t say hell until you jump” - you know this saying very well.

Take your time

From the book Karmic lessons of fate author Seklitova Larisa Alexandrovna

"Hurry to your destination"

From the book Marcus Aurelius by Fontaine Francois

“Hurry to your destination” “After the death of Faustina, Fabia made every effort to marry Marcus Aurelius, but he, not wanting to leave so many children with his stepmother, took the daughter of Faustina’s clerk as his concubine.” We met Ceionia Fabia, daughter of Caesar

Hurry up slowly

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary of Catchwords and Expressions author Serov Vadim Vasilievich

Hurry up slowly From Latin: Festina lente [festina lente]. According to the Roman historian Suetonius (c. 70 - c. 140), this expression was often repeated by the Roman emperor Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD), who grandnephew of Gaius Julius Caesar. The writer indicates that it was

Hurry up slowly

From the book Thoughts, aphorisms, quotes. Business, career, management author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich

Hurry slowly Hurry slowly. A favorite saying of the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD). Haste delays. Curtius Rufus (1st century AD), Roman historian It is one thing to have time, another thing to hurry: who does one thing on time, the one who succeeds

Hurry up, take your time

From the book I would be happy if it weren’t for... Getting rid of any kind of addiction author Freidman Oleg

Hurry up, don't rush How can you prevent the development of depression, and therefore avoid the risk of returning to drug use or another addiction? There is such a way. Milton Erickson spoke about him very convincingly in his book, describing how he managed

Hurry up slowly

From the book Human Health. Philosophy, physiology, prevention author Shatalova Galina Sergeevna

Hurry up slowly I have already mentioned that a person is programmed to consume vegetables, fruits, legumes, cereals, cereals, berries, edible herbs, seeds, nuts, honey, and for infants - mother's milk. During the transition to healthy nutrition, sometimes additional

Day 14. Slowly, slowly

From the book Antidiet. Eat more to weigh less by Danziger Lucy

Day 14: Slowly, Slowly Barring silly competitions like the hamburger-eating contest, one thing is certain: the only thing you'll gain from speed-eating is extra calories. For the stomach to signal

Chapter VI Hurry up slowly, or if you drive more quietly, you will be further... from the place of departure

From the book The Psychology of Victory [Secrets of training Olympic champions and successful businessmen, or 24 hours in your favor] author Kutovaya Elena Ivanovna

Chapter VI Hurry up slowly, or If you drive more quietly, you will continue... from the place of departure When you think, then at that moment you create thought forms with the power of your thoughts (energy that remains in space and next to you and does not disappear anywhere), which can

Hurry up to do good

From the book Conversations with the Russian People author Shakhovskoy Ioann

Hurry to do good The grief of man these days is that he is constantly, always in a hurry, often senselessly and fruitlessly. A person moves mountains with his energy, erects and destroys entire cities in a very short time. But if we look closely at the energy of many people in

1. Do not be hasty with your tongue, and let not your heart be in a hurry to utter a word before God; because God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.

From the book The Explanatory Bible. Volume 5 author Lopukhin Alexander

1. Do not be hasty with your tongue, and let not your heart be in a hurry to utter a word before God; because God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few. He warns the reader against hasty and long-winded prayer. Consciousness of the greatness of God who lives in heaven, and

22. Hurry and escape there, for I cannot do any work until you get there. That is why this city is named Zoar. 23. The sun rose over the earth, and Lot came to Zoar,

From the book The Explanatory Bible. Volume 1 author Lopukhin Alexander

22. Hurry and escape there, for I cannot do any work until you get there. That is why this city is named Zoar. 23. The sun rose over the earth, and Lot came to Zoar, “That is why this city is called Zoar.” Condescending to the request of Lot, although weak in will, but pure in soul, the Lord

The award ceremony at the end of the Paris-Brest-Paris 2003 bike ride was held for the first time without the participation of the strongest male participants. Despite the fact that these participants showed the shortest time to complete the distance in the entire history of the PBP, they received a two-hour penalty for various violations of the rules.

Festina Lente (Russian: hurry up slowly)- phraseological phrase used in the meaning: “don’t do it hastily”; “When you are in a hurry, do not act rashly” - an expression that has become a proverb. Corresponds to a number of popular sayings: “If you drive more slowly, you will go further”, “hurry slowly”, “if you hurry, you will make people laugh”, “hurry, but don’t rush”, “get the job done, but don’t rush”, “whoever takes it in one fell swoop ends in dust ", etc.
One of the favorite expressions of Octavian Augustus: “An exemplary commander, in his [Augustus’] opinion, should least of all be hasty and rash. Therefore, he often repeated the sayings: "Hurry without haste"(Greek: Speude bradeôs), “A cautious commander is better than a reckless one” and “It is better to do well than to start quickly.”

Gilbert Bulte, one of the organizers, gives examples such as: pushing the organizers at the checkpoint, relieving minor needs in populated areas, numerous cases of driving through red lights or stop signs, illuminating the road in front of the participant with the headlights of an illegal escort car, refusals to let my organizational car pass, disrespectful attitude at the sight of my organizational ID.

This is what I wrote Robert Lepertel, organizer of the PBP, in the newspaper of the French Cycling Tourism Federation: “Never before have so many spectators on bicycles and the participants themselves compromised themselves with such disrespect for the rules. The first 12 or 15 […] showed no respect for the organizers, officials and all those who make the PBP a celebration of steadfastness and resilience in the pursuit of reaching the finish line of this difficult race. Such people do not deserve the name of randonneurs, because they do not know what it means to race without a support group.” (Cyclotourisme, no. 518, 10/2003, p. 34.)

Strong words indeed, especially since the fined participants did not believe that they had done anything wrong or extraordinary. It is quite possible that when they broke any rules, they felt that they were doing exactly the same thing as any participant in a bicycle race would do. On the other hand, the organizers say that the fines were not only a consequence of individual violations of the rules, but also a consequence of the obvious attitude of the first participants to deliberately violate the rules. It is clear that there was no mutual understanding between the first participants and the organizers of what the PBP was.

The organizers have great confidence that PBP is not a race, and the behavior of such participants jeopardizes the spirit of randonneurship. But what is the “spirit of randonneurism”? The PBP rules say very little about this. The BRM rules simply state that “brevets are not competitions” (Paragraph 12). But why then is the time of each finisher recorded, why do the PBP organizers recognize records and award prizes to the strongest participants in different categories? Doesn't this mean that for those who want to go fast, it's still a race? It is clear that in an effort to finish first, a participant may decide to ignore other rules as well.

To explore this apparent contradiction between “unsportingness” and rewards for the strongest competitors, we will have to look at the history of the Paris-Brest-Paris race. Randonneurs first took part in the PBP, which has been a professional race since 1891, in 1931. In the 1950s, all other professional races became shorter. Since competing in the PBP required completely different training, it no longer made any sense for professional racers to spend an entire season solely on winning one PBP. This was the death of the PBP as a professional race. The randonneurs picked up the baton.

Unlike riders who earn their living by cycling, randonneurs rode for pleasure. They were proud of the fact that they were non-professionals - lovers of rides. Randonneurs were sometimes quite competitive (for those who prefer non-competitive riding there is a bike ride called Audax), but for the most part it was a friendly competition. Most of them remained involved in the sport for the rest of their lives as participants ( Roger Baumann, the strongest single racer of 1956, entered the starting line for a record 10th PBP) or Volunteers. In fact, the aforementioned organizer Gilbert Bulte was one of two tandems that shared first place in 1956 and overtook all the singles. Roger Baumann, the aforementioned record holder, was a volunteer at Villaines-la-Juhel this year. Pierre Theobald, organizer of PBP 2003, also participated in various randonneur events in the late 1950s.

It is obvious that the organizers mean a competition by PBP, but they do not imagine PBP as a race. The difference is subtle and lies in culture. If a race is more like a battle, from which only one rider emerges victorious, then randonneuring is all about civilized riding pleasure. As one of my non-randonneur friends once said: this is what the ideal cyclist is looking for - any distance, any weather, autonomy.

This does not imply the need to ride slowly or be uncompetitive. After all, PBP is a bit like a performance: only those who finish within the set time receive medals. For most participants, this means driving at the limit for up to 90 hours! And there is nothing wrong with challenging yourself and trying to improve on your previous results. Or even try to go the distance faster than others. But the important fact remains that everyone who finishes the PBP is a winner. Someone may turn out to be the strongest, even receiving a prize for it, but it cannot be said that I “won” the PBP. Everyone receives the same medals. The audience understands this and, in any case, applauds the last finishers more than the first ones.

The difference is obvious from races, in which the strongest participants receive recognition. By definition, the potential winners of a race are more important than the rest of the participants. If weaker participants are more than a lap behind in a circuit race, then it is assumed that if they do not retire completely, then at least they should give way to stronger participants. All participants in a randonneur event have equal rights. Stronger competitors should not expect weaker ones to pass them through to the CP. Even the strongest participants are expected to behave civilly and politely towards other participants, spectators and organizers.

Randonneurship is also about autonomy. Although escort vehicles are allowed at the checkpoint - mainly because it would otherwise be difficult to enforce the ban on their presence at all - it is assumed that participants will be able to navigate the course autonomously and be prepared for the challenge of the road ahead.

Randonneuring, like racing, has its own ethics. For example, in racing it is not customary to “attack” an opponent with a flat tire or during a “neutral” medical stop. In randonneuring, these rules are “unwritten” and different people may understand them differently. Here is our interpretation:

Above all, be polite, which means being considerate of others. Overt aggression has its place in racing, but not in randonneuring. Try to be a representative of the cyclists of your club and your country.
After completing part of the distance as part of a small group, led by all participants in turn, try to finish together. This also includes stops due to punctures (the exception being cases of multiple punctures in one participant, caused by old worn tires or a stupidly equipped bike).
Attacks are not appropriate in this sport. If someone lags behind, unable to maintain the pace, then nothing can be done. However, sudden acceleration for the sake of separation from accomplices is a manifestation of impoliteness.
That's why there is no finishing sprint: everyone in the group is assigned the same place and time (in racing, the reason for determining one winner requires complex equipment and difficult decisions to accurately determine the competitor who crossed the finish line first, even with a difference of only half an inch).
Avoid getting into the “wrong situations.” Follow the rules of the bike ride. This includes following the rules of the road - obey stop signs and red lights. Move together only with cyclists participating in the race. If a car is following your group for a long time, especially at night, then something is wrong. In the escort vehicles of the PBP organizers, in order to avoid giving an advantage to the first participants in the group, the side lights will be turned on. If you find yourself in a group with an illegal escort vehicle, overtake or fall behind the group, but do not remain in it. While it may be difficult to give up the benefits of riding in such a group, keep in mind that the fines incurred if you are exposed will significantly exceed the time saved by riding in such a group.
Be friendly with volunteers and organizers. Follow their instructions and thank them for their time, it only takes a second or two. Without them, you would not have the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful event.
Finish! Your goal is to complete the course in the best way possible given the current circumstances. The main mistake is to go fast and then quit the race, realizing the impossibility of finishing at the scheduled time.

These principles are undoubtedly true not only for BBP, but also for randonneuring in general. Have fun, go fast if you want, challenge yourself and others, but remember: this is not a race!

Jean Heine and Melinda Lyon

Melinda Lyon multiple participant of the PBP. She completed the PBP in 2003 in 54:18, the first of the women's single sculls.

Translation by Vladimir Saburov

“Hurry” is the choral mantra of our time. Expectant mothers sing: if only they could give birth soon, they would soon be discharged home. The parent chorus picks up: I wish he could learn to sit up, start walking on his own, go to kindergarten, finish school, enroll, get smart, get a job, get married. Children's and teenage voices lead the party: it would be the last lesson, the end of the quarter, vacation, summer. But confidently and powerfully, with heavy sighs and light swearing on the backing vocals, a polyphonic choir of workers sounds: hurry up, have lunch, hurry up and go home. I wish I could survive this day (report, meeting, event). I wish it was Friday, vacation, retirement.

And so we fly through the calendar on a high-speed express train. We accelerated so much that there was continuous flickering all around, it was no longer possible to distinguish anything. And we no longer notice not only drops of dew, autumn colors, tenderness in the soul or sadness in someone’s eyes, but even traffic lights, stations, cities, continents, and, in fact, our lives, we miss. We are flying towards our lofty goal, but what?

And suddenly anxiety and doubt creep in: “Why all this?” Well, that is, words are found in response by inertia. But they sound, but do not answer the question. And then fear, confusion, emptiness, disappointment sets in: “Where do I even need to go? After all, I’m not in such a hurry to go to the churchyard.”

Time is condensing

Now even schoolchildren know the term “time management”. We manage to do 10 things at once. At the same time, we talk on one phone, type a message on another, sip coffee, pack our things for a business trip, pour food for the cat and use gestures to hurry the child to school. If we do only two things at the same time, then we seem to ourselves to be sluggish mattresses and hoarders. But we can’t stop, because the entire successful world will immediately rush forward, master, conquer, achieve, and we will never have time again, we will not catch up, we will not achieve, we will fall behind once and for all.

Time slows down, expands and fills

Festina lente is a Latin proverb that literally means “make haste slowly.” I first heard this saying from my grandfather, then I came across it at medical school when I was studying Latin. And she couldn’t understand what it meant. And, probably, I would not have understood further if I had not gone to study as a Gestalt therapist. From the very first meetings, they teach you to slow down and hear yourself, your feelings, emotions, sensations. Having worked for 20 years in Big Pharma at top and limitless speeds, at first I resisted. She was boiling, angry, waiting for us to finally get down to business, set SMART goals, write down all the meanings point by point in notebooks and rush to master this very gestalt.

Now three years of study are behind me. Just don’t think that now I’m such a smart girl who knows Zen. But as I slowed down, I began to see, hear, and notice much more. It was as if I had woken up from many years of lethargic sleep, fainting, or anesthesia. Life began to acquire greater value and taste.

The energy of life is no longer wasted on maintaining unnecessary chaos, on searching for answers in the clogged ether of the brain

I began to discern where my desires were and where other people’s patterns and attitudes of society were, and I discovered something in myself that I didn’t suspect. I stopped nagging myself for any reason, felt calm and stable, believed in myself, became interested in myself, and allowed myself to be myself. It’s like spring cleaning, when you very critically, with passion, evaluate every thing you find and make a decision whether it’s yours or someone else’s, whether you need it or not, whether to store it or throw it away. And then vanity and turmoil disappear, the energy of life is no longer wasted on maintaining unnecessary chaos and tension, on searching for answers in the clogged ether of the brain. There is a feeling of freedom, clarity and lightness.