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22 April 2006

A new pace of life

Drifting along the Lake
The pace of life is slow on the Lake
© Greenpeace/ Prout

Posted by Vieen, GFRS volunteer

The Chinese language can be tricky for foreigners, I realised when we approached the GFRS and I saw our big “Save paradise forest” banner was gorgeously hanging upside down.

But people there didn’t really give me a chance to complain – we were densely surrounded by people, who greeted us with handshakes, before we even got off the boat.

I probably can teach them Chinese later, but as a newcomer to forest life, I myself have to learn fast. However, the first lesson is to learn how to slow down, and a convenient initiative is to throw away your watch, because time simply isn’t measured by mechanical tic-tocs.

You know sunrise and sunset, you hunt and cook or make crafts when necessary or simply when you feel like it, and you can spend the rest of the time lying under the shade, listening to birds or talking to the lake. What to modern city dwellers can be perceived as idleness, is a legitimate way of living, and from the faces I see here, I can tell there’s more than meaning in it.

   

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