Today, Jan visited the French/Vietnamese hospital for a small test. There was some difficulty with our credit card so she came home and then returned with cash to pay the bill. Fortunately there was one woman in the office who was still there. All others in the office and surrounding offices were already gone. It was noon, and like many places here, you don't conduct business there between 12:00 and 1:30.
Yesterday I met with someone from 11:00 until noon. While there were errands to run, I thought I would run into the same problem. So I put them off until today. As with so many warm countries, intelligent Vietnamese eat and rest at noon, even if by now many work in air conditioning.
Most Vietnamese have never heard of a power nap, but it is common to find people taking a nap at noon, or even at other times during the day. Not all businesses close their doors but if possible people expect to slow down for an hour or two.
We from the west know that our pace is far too fast. (Of course Chinese from Hong Kong or Shanghai might say our cities are too slow.) Life is often out of balance because we are moving too fast, allowing our lives to be filled with things that are important but not significant. I am reminded of my former Toronto dentist who did not see patients at the noon hour but instead napped on one of his dental chairs. Maybe that was why he seemed to smile easily.
You may not need a nap. But let me ask, do you have enough "slow by saying no" in your life right now? Should you eliminate a couple of things from your May/June schedule that are really not very important? Should you be planning now to take some healthy "slow" time in the summer? Do you need to carve out more daily time with God? Even if you don't keep a sabbath, do you slow down on Sundays at all?
Living in a cold climate is no excuse to live at a frenetic pace. You don't have to get stuck on "hurry" in order to stay warm. :) Written while it is 36 degrees outside and only going down to 27 at night.
Yesterday I met with someone from 11:00 until noon. While there were errands to run, I thought I would run into the same problem. So I put them off until today. As with so many warm countries, intelligent Vietnamese eat and rest at noon, even if by now many work in air conditioning.
Most Vietnamese have never heard of a power nap, but it is common to find people taking a nap at noon, or even at other times during the day. Not all businesses close their doors but if possible people expect to slow down for an hour or two.
We from the west know that our pace is far too fast. (Of course Chinese from Hong Kong or Shanghai might say our cities are too slow.) Life is often out of balance because we are moving too fast, allowing our lives to be filled with things that are important but not significant. I am reminded of my former Toronto dentist who did not see patients at the noon hour but instead napped on one of his dental chairs. Maybe that was why he seemed to smile easily.
You may not need a nap. But let me ask, do you have enough "slow by saying no" in your life right now? Should you eliminate a couple of things from your May/June schedule that are really not very important? Should you be planning now to take some healthy "slow" time in the summer? Do you need to carve out more daily time with God? Even if you don't keep a sabbath, do you slow down on Sundays at all?
Living in a cold climate is no excuse to live at a frenetic pace. You don't have to get stuck on "hurry" in order to stay warm. :) Written while it is 36 degrees outside and only going down to 27 at night.
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