Comments on: 9/11 didn't change me overnight, even though I wish it had

By: shaw

shaw — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:38:29 +0000

I was not there when the towers collapsed. But I did work at Windows on the World in the kitchen a year before. It did put things in perspective for me.

I too like to go fast. and I have a hard time adjusting to slow. But I've learned that fast can make you rash about decisions, and I'm working to make more controlled decisions.

One thing I am also realizing is that fast can mean starting now and doing a little bit everyday. You can never go back and get something going and when age is important, sometimes you need to be fast to get things started, but just more controlled and steady with ongoing development.

Shaw

By: Gordon

Gordon — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:21:48 +0000

If we need to change we are not happy with who we are, Change is required, if we know what we want to change into, and we do not loose our own eternal soul.
Don't sell yourself for "10 shekel's and a shirt"

Good luck

Slainte
Gordon

By: Yu Ming Lui

Yu Ming Lui — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:07:56 +0000

Insightful post on personal pace, Penelope. It never dawned on me that those who are fast in life have those fears which are identical to slow pokes. I have to agree that you should travel at whatever speed that suits your situation. Good luck with getting off the highway a little bit.

By: Angie

Angie — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:34:25 +0000

On Friday I was thinking about just the subject of this post. I, too, like to do things quickly. As soon as I begin Step 1 in actuality, my mind as moved on to see how quickly I can move on to steps 2 and 3. But on Friday I really thought about this tendency because I have a little calendar of African proverbs, and the proverb for Friday said, "If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with others." I hadn't really thought of it like that before. I had wondered whether I might enjoy life more if I did things more slowly, but I hadn't thought about whether I'd be less alone if I did things more slowly. Thinking of it that way involved an interesting little paradigm shift for me.

By: gt

gt — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:58:09 +0000

@ Joel…

Glad to see you are using your time to "DO something worthwhile" yourself.

By: Neil C

Neil C — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:22:01 +0000

I read your 9/12/01 blog & it was riveting. I learned 2 basic things from 9/11:

1) Live. You control own destiny so don't be a victim, make the most of every day & don't live in fear. I have an enormous amount of respect for my old boss but it really pissed me off when he sent out an email on 9/11 to all of the mgrs telling us we should fill up on gas. He gave into the panic. If you live in fear the terrorists have already won.

2) Evil exists & must be crushed. Evil only can flourish only when good men do nothing. There are people in this world that believe that we should either convert to Islam or be killed. There is no compromise with these people-they must be destroyed. I'm not interested in understanding their motivations-it's irrelevant.

My therapy has always been doing, not thinking or meditating. I agree that taking time to reflect is important but changing pace alone may not help some people.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:20:21 +0000

Why don't we just chose any pace that is fitting to ourselves? Why is pace even in question? In physics you got Maxwell-velocity-distribution for a group of particles, you might want to take a look at it – there, fast and slow pace is seldom, most particles in the group move with a velocity somewhere between fast and slow.

But in real life we should just go and DO stuff, with a purpose. Pace is not the marker to measure purpose.

By: Annie

Annie — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:38:45 +0000

Penelope, your post really resonates with me. Thanks for your writing. I'm surprised by the haters here, because I value what you're saying highly.

By: Lance

Lance — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:27:09 +0000

Slow is good. Fast is good. The key is moderation. 9/11 was a way for many to slow down. It was hard not to. It takes time to deal with the enormity of that whole situation. Even if we wish that we could quickly change…some things have to be processed. Thanks for sharing you story from these dark days…

By: Noumenon

Noumenon — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:03:25 +0000

Hey, Penelope, I just read your column about Sarah Palin. I didn't realize you'd had a baby! So congratulations, however long it's been.

When I Googled your name to come here and congratulate you, I clicked on the subheading "My name is not really Penelope Trunk." Wow — what a story. I really like how you open up deep, true secrets that most of us would be afraid to, because of that critical inner "john" in our minds.