“When we talk about peace or the environment, I often come across people who say that there is no time for talking about peace. There is no time for considering the environment. But then I think, what do we have time for, if not for our own peace and environment?” Professor, author and activist Keibo Oiwa began his lecture to participants onboard the Peace and Green Boat by sharing the idea that roots of conflicts can be found in the hectic pace of life and unstable relationship with our environment that much of the world has chosen to live by. His idea, an idea shared by millions of people around the world and growing every day, is simply that humans need to slow down. The movement is known as the “Slow Life” movement.

Keibo introduced the story “Momo” by Michael Ende, a children’s story about grey-suited figures who steal time from people, who are outwitted by a young girl. Looking at life in this way, it is possible to see how people, in their interactions and lives, are very busy stealing time from each other, and from nature.

There are three important frames of time: that of nature, culture, and economy. Nature-time refers to the pace at which nature ‘happens’ – the cycle of the seasons, the time a chicken takes to lay an egg, or for a tree to grow, die, and nourish the living organisms around it.

Yet the time frame of economy, the management and development of commodities, has always been speeding up, especially since the industrial revolution. There is even a ‘rule’ for certain technology that capacity and performance will double every two years; a concept unthinkable in nature.

The result is that the relationship between economy and nature is now wildly out of balance. A good example is our own hunger. Whether or not our bodies need food, we are regulated into very short, specific times to eat, usually very hurried. Another example is the practice of setting lights in a chicken coop (or warehouse) to 12 hour cycles, causing the chickens to produce twice the eggs, while becoming aggressive and unhealthy in the process. Our attempts to keep up with, and even increase the speed of, the economy-time frame over all other concerns has led us to war and killing of people, animals and nature. It can be said that economy has swallowed our entire society, rather than economy existing as a part within society. Every aspect of our lives is in some way regulated by economy.

Keibo continued, “It seems that economy is the most important element of our life now. We do have the time to talk about economy, making money. It was very interesting to see President Bush telling Americans after September 11, 2001, “If you are a true, patriotic US citizen, then go out and shop.” I remember a big sign at the airport in New York that said America is open for business.” What does this indicate?

Around the world people are beginning to understand how our culture time-frame, the way we guide the interaction between economy, nature and our societies, has lost control of the situation. People are gradually understanding how we need now to move away from speed and war, and towards a slower, more balanced relationship between economy, culture and nature time-frames. This is the root of the Slow Life philosophy.