What Speed Means to Marketplace Listeners

		Read More Speed Commentaries • Straight Up • Define Our Goals • At What Cost? • Time and Fruit • Workaholism • Faster and Faster • Overcoming Limitations • Length of Time • A State of Mind • Theory of Relativity • What About Honolulu? • A New Career From Speed • Speed Is Nothing New • It's All Relative • We're Being Sold Speed • Speed Means Missing Out • Time is Priceless • The Ride Keeps Getting Faster • Family First • Slowing Down for Frugality • Speed Serves Me • A Fortunate Layoff • Interruptions • Our Country's Material Obsession • A Personal Slowdown • Using Speed to My Advantage • I Don't Miss Much • Not Enough Hours In the Day • Peaceful • Speed, Oh Speed • Out of Control • I Live By Speed • Happy to Be Relaxed • Speed Is Choice Index of Comments

Workaholism (June 29)
After working full-time while my teenage daughters were going through high school and college, I realized how exhausted I was and how unbalanced my life had become. I went to a job share in the same job—I am a social worker—and the rewards have been immeasuable.

I am fortunate that I have been able to take a 50% paycut and I know this is not an option for everyone. I do wonder though, now I have more time to reflect, what is being achieved by this country's workaholism.The workplace itself has sped up, and this has spilled over into everyday functioning. It seems that we have bought into, hook, line, and sinker, the consumer-driven economy. I for one am glad I jumped off the roller coaster in time. The problem is that a lot of people have committed themselves to vast houses, cars, and credit-card debt, and can't stop or slow down even if they wanted to. Maybe a recession is what's needed to restore the nation's mental health!

Christine Lindsay
Phoenix, AZ

Faster and Faster(June 29)
I am convinced that I can get more done by going faster and faster. Early in the day everything seems fine. However, as the day wears on, my mind has played out the events of today and even tomorrow such that time seems to pick up speed. In my mind I am already on to tomorrow and I have to remind myself it is still today or I may believe I am finishing Friday afternoon when it is still Thursday in the real world.

Is this "time is an illusion" in the speedy world of today?

Hopi Fitz-William
Pima, AZ

Overcoming Limitations (June 29)
In a sense, speed is the inverse of time—we feel a need for speed if we don't think we have enough time. Normally, I don't tend to agree with the current Chief Justice (William Rehnquist) very often, but I recently saw a memorable quotation about time from him:

"Another way to look at life is to see it as a different kind of department store. A store where such things as worldly success, love of music, enjoyment of painting, a six-handicap golf game, a close relationship with your son or daughter, and many other things are for sale. But the commodity with which they are purchased is not money but time.

"And quite contrary to the way the capitalist system works with money and goods, every one of us is given exactly the same amount of time in each hour, in each day, and in each year. It is a limited amount, and it is impossible for anyone to be so rich in time that he can enjoy every single one of the things which time may buy. So there is a choice to be made . . ."

Perhaps our "need for speed" is our (collective) way of trying to overcome the limitations of the amount of time we are each given in life. But is it worth it?

Brian Cole
Manhattan Beach, CA

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