Description
Christian McEwen’s wonderful book is now available as an audiobook!
The human mind, writes Christian McEwen, is “fed and nourished by every sight and smell and sound that we encounter, from the movement of the clouds to the shrill of the birds outside our morning window.” To enjoy that nourishment, we need to “refuse and choose,” resisting the siren call of technology whenever possible and allowing ourselves time to slow down and pay attention. World Enough & Time examines the spiritual and literary underpinnings of slowness and offers inspiration, encouragement, and practical advice for anyone wishing to create time and space for the imagination to flourish.
Making room for creativity is not about squeezing yet another activity into an already overflowing schedule or tossing another ball into a deluge of obligations. It’s about scheduling fewer activities, dropping some of the balls, and slowing down—creating what Christian McEwen so eloquently describes as “a rich sufficiency of time.”
In World Enough & Time, McEwen quotes widely from literary and spiritual thinkers to explore the fruits of life lived slowly, deliberately, and with mindfulness. She draws on the wisdom of writers ranging from Henry David Thoreau to Mary Oliver and Adrienne Rich, artists and musicians from Auguste Rodin to Meredith Monk, and religious traditions from both the East and the West, creating a unique combination of history, spirituality, and practical advice about incorporating the benefits of slowness into everyday living. What she calls “inspiration for the literate reader” does indeed inspire one to put down the smart phone and pick up pencil and paper, to deepen friendships through long, face-to-face conversations, and to step into one’s life by actual walking: putting one foot in front of the other, preferably under the open sky.
The benefits? Not just the time for creativity, but the kind of peace of mind that welcomes and nurtures creative pursuits. A way of living that’s deep, contemplative, and rich. Emotions that are felt. Friendships that nurture. A wider embrace of humanity.
This is a book that can pull you back from the brink of “crazy-busy-ness,” of high-speed, high-tech life, and return you to your soul.
Listen to a sample:
Christian McEwen is a writer, educator, workshop facilitator, and cultural activist. Since leaving New York City twenty years ago, she has edited two anthologies and produced a video documentary, Tomboys!, and a play, Legal Tender: Women and the Secret Life of Money. Her book, World Enough and Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down (Bauhan 2011), is now in its sixth printing and is also available in an audio format. Her most recent collection is Sparks from the Anvil: the Smith College Poetry Interviews, (Bauhan 2015). Christian grew up in the borders of Scotland and now lives in western Massachusetts.
