Something Understood

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Religion & Ethics

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life, taking a spiritual theme and exploring it through music, prose and poetry

BBC Radio 4 LW

Something Understood: Slowing Down

Heaven in Ordinary

Slowing Down

BBC Radio 4 - Something Understood, Slowing Down

Writer and priest Malcolm Doney explores the benefits of slowing down in our busy lives.

With the fast pace of life, slowing down can feel like an impossible task. Writer and priest Malcolm Doney explores how applying the brakes even slightly can improve our wellbeing.

Writer and priest Malcolm Doney ponders how his move from a busy, city working life to the peaceful countryside has brought about a new, slower pace that’s changed many aspects of his daily life and outlook.

Malcolm explores the pitfalls of our fast, “roadrunner” culture - from not having time to nurture important relationships to our tendency to lack patience. Malcolm learns of the ‘slow movement’, an organised resistance to our culture of speed that spans several decades, driven by those producing ‘slow’ cinema, cooking and fashion. He examines the ‘slow art’ and ‘slow music’ of James Turrell, Brian Eno and Danny Hills. 

Waiting, doing nothing - although going against the norms of our culture - has its virtues, given that God doesn’t work to human beings’ impatient timetable or on demand. So how can we best slow down and be patient, especially during life’s more chaotic and stressful moments? Malcolm takes tips from Michael Palin on finding peace, and free-diver Kimi Werner on resisting panic. 

Malcolm concludes that slowing down allows us to place value on everyday moments, even small things like drinking tea, and encourages us to give slowness a go.

Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Sera Baker
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