Cook to Speed: Slow
Posted on 01. Feb, 2010 by Andrea Dumovich in Blog, Books
Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places
By John R. Stilgoe
208 pp. Walker & Company, $14.95
With the current state of American affairs (economic meltdown, stagnant housing market, job loss—you know the rest) there has been a significant increase in the way people have cozied up with the present moment. Rather than racing to the nearest Starbucks, people are now forced, due to economic reasons, to stay inside their homes and make instant coffee for merely 20 cents a cup, noting the worthwhile and sustainable impact the latest recession has had on America’s lifestyle.
There have long been a number of books dedicated to the vital importance of slowing down, listening to the birds, and enjoying life one day at a time. But during this day and age that message is especially potent and may be the only way our generation will be able to cope with the economic situation for a long time to come. In Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places, John R. Stilgoe reiterates the obvious need to open our eyes to the world, which has been lost in a cyber-technological time warp. He starts the manifesto with a simple declaration: “Get out now.” Outside, that is, “beyond the trap of the programmed electronic age so gently closing around so many people at the end of our century.” Though some of the topics Stilgoe chooses to write about—walking, riding bikes, following railroad tracks—may seem overtly simplistic, he reinforces a spatial consciousness that has been lost to modern improvements like the Internet. We forget how enriching and magnificent the great outdoors is and always has been.
If Stilgoe’s targeted readership is for those who don’t get the nature-is-more-rewarding concept and need a pat on the back to make them get up off the couch, are they even the type to pick up this sort of book in the first place? Outside Lies Magic only reemphasizes what cloud-reading grass-loungers have known all along. Hence the title.
Books that state the obvious (encouraging, self-help types) generally conjure up thoughts that have long been boiling deep inside. So you may ask, then, what’s the point? I already know everything that is in this book. But reading Outside Lies Magic has truly opened my eyes to the precious, oft-ignored beauty encompassing every space and has also led me to reevaluate my day-to-day standard of living.
One such standard I question is the difficulty for people to actually do the things they love to do. Why is that? I can’t think of anything more enjoyable than riding a bike, painting a scene, or cooking dinner with friends, and yet I complete them with as much frequency as I visit my dentist. All of these take time shoved aside so that, before starting, the thought of completing one of these adored hobbies weighs like a strenuous task eating away at my life’s “important” schedule. If it sounds like a problem of mixed priorities, well, that’s because it is. Ultimately the feeling of regret only emerges when I complete something worthwhile—engaging the mind, body, and soul; I regret that I don’t do it more often.
The world outside exists and it is wonderful. Yes, you already know this. If you choose to read a book that tells you more or less that sunshine acts as a natural drug—to go out and find free happiness amidst the world—don’t think that you’ll be wasting your time. Just as we spend much wasted time doing things we don’t like—puttering around, surfing the web and achieving nothing—we need to give a little time in order to reemphasize concepts greatly important and ridiculously simple. Stilgoe’s words nicely package an idea of seeing, doing, and creating that upon first bite may taste bland or repetitive but after swallowed and digested explodes into the reader’s own momentum: life. Thus I end my rant short. Get out there. Now.
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Photo courtesy of earcos, licensed under Creative Commons
Andrea blogs at http://citysomnambule.tumblr.com/ and Earth Island Institute
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