which is that if I've learned anything over the last year,

学んだことが事があります

it's that the supreme irony

とても皮肉なことですが

of publishing a book about slowness

「スロー」に関する本を出版すると

is that you have to go around promoting it really fast.

宣伝活動で「忙しく」なります

I seem to spend most of my time these days

最近では

zipping from city to city, studio to studio,

各所の都市の放送局で

interview to interview,

インタビューを受け

serving up the book in really tiny bite-size chunks.

本の内容を要約してお伝えしています

Because everyone these days

すべての人達が

wants to know how to slow down,

どうやってスローダウンするか

but they want to know how to slow down really quickly. So ...

急いで学びたがっているからです

so I did a spot on CNN the other day

CNNでは出演時間よりも

where I actually spent more time in makeup than I did talking on air.

メークの方が時間がかかりました

And I think that -- that's not really surprising though, is it?

これが現実ですから

Because that's kind of the world that we live in now,

当然ですよね

a world stuck in fast-forward.

スピードに縛られ

A world obsessed with speed,

強迫観念のように

with doing everything faster, with cramming more and more

限られた時間で詰め込む

into less and less time.

風潮があります

Every moment of the day feels like

生活のすべてが

a race against the clock.

時間との勝負です

To borrow a phrase from Carrie Fisher, which is

本にも記載しましたが

in my bio there; I'll just toss it out again --

キャリー・フィッシャーはこう言っています

"These days even instant gratification takes too long." (Laughter)

即席の楽しみでさえ時間がかかりすぎだと（笑い）

And

我々は

if you think about how we to try to make things better, what do we do?

何かを改善しようとすると

No, we speed them up, don't we? So we used to dial; now we speed dial.

スピードをあげるという方法をとります

We used to read; now we speed read. We used to walk; now we speed walk.

速く電話する 速く読む 速く歩く

And of course, we used to date and now we speed date.

デートでさえ 速くデートする風潮があります

And even things that are by their very nature slow --

元来 スローがコンセプトのものでさえ

we try and speed them up too.

速くする傾向にあります

So I was in New York recently, and I walked past a gym

NYでスポーツクラブの前を通ったとき

that had an advertisement in the window for a new course, a new evening course.

新しいコースが宣伝されていました

And it was for, you guessed it, speed yoga.

それはスピードヨガです

So this -- the perfect solution for time-starved professionals

忙しい人にはぴったりです

who want to, you know, salute the sun,

ヨガはしたいけど

but only want to give over about 20 minutes to it.

20分ぐらいでという人です

I mean, these are sort of the extreme examples,

これらの極端な例は

and they're amusing and good to laugh at.

冗談として笑えますが

But there's a very serious point,

気をつけなければならないのは

and I think that in the headlong dash of daily life,

スピードを重視する日常に潜んでいます

we often lose sight of the damage

速さ優先の生活スタイルがもたらす

that this roadrunner form of living does to us.

害を見落としがちです

We're so marinated in the culture of speed

速さの文化にどっぷりつかり

that we almost fail to notice the toll it takes

引き換えの代償に気付きません

on every aspect of our lives --

日常のあらゆる側面

on our health, our diet, our work,

健康 食事 仕事 人間関係

our relationships, the environment and our community.

環境 そして 社会における代償です

And sometimes it takes

それは時として

a wake-up call, doesn't it,

豊かな生活をせず

to alert us to the fact that we're hurrying through our lives,

生き急いでいる私たちへの

instead of actually living them; that we're

警告となって

living the fast life, instead of the good life.

現れます

And I think for many people, that wake-up call

これはしばしば

takes the form of an illness.

病気として表面化します

You know, a burnout, or eventually the body says,

燃え尽き症候群や

"I can't take it anymore," and throws in the towel.

体の拒否反応 もしくは

Or maybe a relationship goes up in smoke

誰かと一緒にいても

because we haven't had the time, or the patience,

時間に追われ 辛抱できず

or the tranquility,

平静を保てなくなり

to be with the other person, to listen to them.

人間関係がだめになるかもしれません

And my wake-up call came when I started

私への警告は

reading bedtime stories to my son,

子供を寝かしつけるときに

and I found that at the end of day,

やってきました

I would go into his room and I just couldn't slow down -- you know,

「帽子をかぶった猫」を読むのですが

I'd be speed reading "The Cat In The Hat."

ゆっくりと読むことに我慢できず

I'd be -- you know, I'd be skipping lines here,

所々を 時には1ページ全部を

paragraphs there, sometimes a whole page,

とばしてしまうのです

and of course, my little boy knew the book inside out, so we would quarrel.

息子は本を全部憶えているので 口論になります

And what should have been the most relaxing, the most intimate,

一日の中で最もリラックスし

the most tender moment of the day,

父として大切なわが子を

when a dad sits down to read to his son,

寝かしつけるという行為が

became instead this kind of gladiatorial battle of wills,

喧嘩になります

a clash between my speed

原因は私の速さと

and his slowness.

息子の遅さの不調和です

And this went on for some time,

この問題はしばらく続きました

until I caught myself scanning a newspaper article

新聞記事を見ていて

with timesaving tips for fast people.

時間節約のヒントという記事に

And one of them made reference to a series of books called

次のような本がありました

"The One-Minute Bedtime Story."

「1分間で済むベッドタイムストーリー」

And I wince saying those words now,

今ではあまり賛同しないタイトルですが

but my first reaction at the time was very different.

当時の私の反応は

My first reflex was to say,

違いました

"Hallelujah -- what a great idea!

「なんていいアイデアだ」

This is exactly what I'm looking for to speed up bedtime even more."

「これで早く寝かしつけることができる」

But thankfully,

しかし 有難いことに

a light bulb went on over my head, and my next reaction was very different,

ふとおかしいと感じたのです

and I took a step back, and I thought,

距離を置いて考えてみると

"Whoa -- you know, has it really come to this?

本当にそんな必要があるのか

Am I really in such a hurry that I'm prepared

息子との時間を削って

to fob off my son with a sound byte at the end of the day?"

スピードを重視する必要があるのか

And I put away the newspaper --

その時 飛行機に乗っていましたが

and I was getting on a plane -- and I sat there,

新聞を置いて

and I did something I hadn't done for a long time -- which is I did nothing.

久しぶりに何もしないで

I just thought, and I thought long and hard.

よく考えてみました

And by the time I got off that plane, I'd decided I wanted to do something about it.

降りるまでに決めたことがありました

I wanted to investigate this whole roadrunner culture,

スピード偏重の社会を調査し

and what it was doing to me and to everyone else.

私たちにどんな影響を与えているのか

And I had two questions in my head.

二つの論点が浮かびました

The first was, how did we get so fast?

一つ目は どのようにスピード偏重になったのか

And the second is, is it possible,

二つ目は スローダウンは可能なのか そして

or even desirable, to slow down?

受け入れられるのか

Now, if you think about

スピード偏重にどのようになったか考えると

how our world got so accelerated, the usual suspects rear their heads.

まず頭に浮かぶ理由は

You think of, you know, urbanization,

都市化 大量消費

consumerism, the workplace, technology.

労働環境 技術革新などです

But I think if you cut through

しかし これらに惑わされず

those forces, you get to what might be the deeper

より根本の原因を考えると

driver, the nub of the question,

問題の核心に辿り着きます

which is how we think about time itself.

それは時間の概念です

In other cultures, time is cyclical.

ある文化では 時間は

It's seen as moving in great,

循環すると考えられています

unhurried circles.

ゆっくりと循環し

It's always renewing and refreshing itself.

絶えず更新し新調されるという概念です

Whereas in the West, time is linear.

西欧では時間は直線的です

It's a finite resource;

時間は限りあるもので

it's always draining away.

絶えず失われていきます

You either use it, or lose it.

使わないと失われてしまうという

"Time is money," as Benjamin Franklin said.

「時は金なり」という概念です

And I think what that does to us psychologically

心理的に私たちは

is it creates an equation.

方程式を作っています

Time is scarce, so what do we do?

時間は有限で貴重だから

Well -- well, we speed up, don't we?

スピードを上げよう

We try and do more and more with less and less time.

短時間でより多くのことをしようとします

We turn every moment of every day

日常の全てを

into a race to the finish line --

レースに置き換えます

a finish line, incidentally, that we never reach,

そして そのレースには

but a finish line nonetheless.

ゴールがありません

And I guess that the question is,

このような考え方から

is it possible to break free from that mindset?

脱却することは可能なのでしょうか

And thankfully, the answer is yes, because

ありがたいことに 可能なのです

what I discovered, when I began looking around, that there is

今 世界中で

a global backlash against this culture that

速い方がいい 忙しいほうがいい

tells us that faster is always better, and that busier is best.

という風潮への反発が起こっています

Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable:

以前は考えられなかったことです

they're slowing down, and finding that,

社会通念上

although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down, you're road kill,

遅いことは悪いこととされていますが

the opposite turns out to be true:

そうではない場合もあります

that by slowing down at the right moments,

適切なときにスローダウンすることで

people find that they do everything better.

よりよい成果が出るとわかってきました

They eat better; they make love better; they exercise better;

食事 恋愛 運動 仕事など

they work better; they live better.

そして 生きるということもそうです

And, in this kind of cauldron

様々な場面で

of moments and places and acts of deceleration,

見られるスローダウンを勧める

lie what a lot of people now refer to as

現象は いわば世界的な

the "International Slow Movement."

スロー運動といえます

Now if you'll permit me a small act of hypocrisy,

スロー運動とはどういうものなのか

I'll just give you a very quick overview of

私なりに急いで

what's going on inside the Slow Movement. If you think of food,

お話しします まず食べ物です

many of you will have heard of the Slow Food movement.

スローフードがブームですね

Started in Italy, but has spread across the world,

イタリアから始まり世界に広がりました

and now has 100,000 members

現在50の国にわたり

in 50 countries.

10万人の会員がいます

And it's driven by a very simple and sensible message,

ゆっくりしたペースで食べ物を

which is that we get more pleasure and more health

栽培し 料理し 食することで

from our food when we

もっと喜びと健康を

cultivate, cook and consume it at a reasonable pace.

得ることができるというメッセージで成り立っています

I think also the explosion of

有機農業の人気や

the organic farming movement, and the renaissance of farmers' markets,

農業市場の再興からも

are other illustrations

人々が忙しい時間枠の中で

of the fact that people are desperate to get away from

食べたり料理したり

eating and cooking and cultivating their food

することから脱却したいと

on an industrial timetable.

考えているのがわかります

They want to get back to slower rhythms.

スローなリズムを取り戻したいのです

And out of the Slow Food movement has grown something

スローフード運動から派生したものとして

called the Slow Cities movement, which has started in Italy,

スローシティ運動があります　 イタリアから

but has spread right across Europe and beyond.

ヨーロッパ全土に広がりました

And in this, towns

都市の景観を見直して

begin to rethink how they organize the urban landscape,

住民がスローダウンをしやすくし

so that people are encouraged to slow down

休息し 人とのつながりを増やそうという

and smell the roses and connect with one another.

運動です

So they might curb traffic,

交通量を減らし

or put in a park bench, or some green space.

ベンチを置いて緑を増やすなど

And in some ways, these changes add up to more than the sum of their parts,

スローシティーへの活動が

because I think when a Slow City becomes officially a Slow City,

最終的には

it's kind of like a philosophical declaration.

哲学的な宣言になります

It's saying to the rest of world, and to the people in that town,

町の人に そして 世界に向けて

that we believe that in the 21st century,

21世紀では

slowness has a role to play.

スローが大切という宣言です

In medicine, I think a lot of people are deeply disillusioned

医療においても多くの人が

with the kind of quick-fix mentality

その場しのぎの治療に

you find in conventional medicine.

幻滅しています

And millions of them around the world are turning

そして それらを

to complementary and alternative forms of medicine,

補完　もしくは 代替する

which tend to tap into sort of

スローで全人的な形態の

slower, gentler, more holistic forms of healing.

治療に注目し始めています

Now, obviously the jury is out on many of these complementary therapies,

これら多くの治療に結論は出ていません

and I personally doubt that the coffee enema

個人的にはコーヒーのかん腸が

will ever, you know, gain mainstream approval.

人気になるとは思いませんが

But other treatments

しかし他の方法　 針治療や

such as acupuncture and massage, and even just relaxation,

マッサージ そして リラックスには

clearly have some kind of benefit.

何らかの効果があります

And blue-chip medical colleges everywhere

多くの有名な医大が

are starting to study these things to find out how they work,

これらがどのように効いているのか

and what we might learn from them.

学ぼうとしています

Sex. There's an awful lot of fast sex around, isn't there?

セックスも忙しいセックスが多いです

I was coming to --

最近 イッたときも・・・

well -- no pun intended there.

いや そっちじゃなくて

I was making my way, let's say, slowly to Oxford,

オックスフォードにですよ

and I went through a news agent, and I saw a magazine,

店頭で雑誌を見ました

a men's magazine, and it said on the front,

その男性誌のカバーには

"How to bring your partner to orgasm in 30 seconds."

「30秒でいかせる方法」と書いてありました

So, you know, even sex

セックスでさえ

is on a stopwatch these days.

時間との勝負です

Now, you know,

速いセックスが

I like a quickie as much as the next person,

だめというわけではないですが

but I think that there's an awful lot to be gained

スローなセックスから得られるものは

from slow sex -- from slowing down in the bedroom.

非常に多いと思います

You know, you tap into that -- those deeper,

感情的にも精神的にも

sort of, psychological, emotional, spiritual currents,

より深く触れ合うことで

and you get a better orgasm with the buildup.

より快感を

You can get more bang for your buck, let's say.

得ることができます

I mean, the Pointer Sisters said it most eloquently, didn't they,

ポインター・シスターズの歌にあるように

when they sang the praises of "a lover with a slow hand."

スローハンドが大切ですね

Now, we all laughed at Sting

スティングが数年前に

a few years ago when he went Tantric,

タントリックセックスに言及した際は

but you fast-forward a few years, and now you find couples of all ages

馬鹿にされましたが今では多くのカップルが

flocking to workshops, or maybe just

ワークショップに行ったり

on their own in their own bedrooms, finding ways

よりスローなセックスを

to put on the brakes and have better sex.

求めています

And of course, in Italy where -- I mean, Italians always seem to know

イタリア人は喜びを見つけるのが

where to find their pleasure --

上手ですが

they've launched an official Slow Sex movement.

スローセックス運動が正式に始まっています

The workplace.

労働に関しても

Right across much of the world --

北米は例外としても

North America being a notable exception --

多くの国で労働時間が

working hours have been coming down.

短くなっています

And Europe is an example of that,

ヨーロッパは労働時間を

and people finding that their quality of life improves