The Fast Lane to Nowhere: A Comedy of Modern Speed
– 3 min read
by Repiyah Hentkhepra
Human beings have achieved something truly remarkable in the modern world. We have invented ways to move faster than our Ancestors could ever imagine - and somehow, we still have no idea where we are going. In fact, the modern human being wakes up tired, rushes through the day exhausted, and goes to bed anxious, only to wake up the next morning and do it all again, but faster. It is truly a magnificent system.
The Religion of Speed
Modern life has one unspoken commandment: “Thou shalt hurry.” Everyone is hurrying somewhere. The man, running to catch the bus. The bus driver, speeding to beat traffic. The executive, gulping coffee while replying to emails at 120 words per minute. The young professional, jogging on a treadmill… after sitting for ten hours. Nobody knows exactly why we are hurrying, but by heaven, we are doing it with great commitment.
Now… let us take a small pause from hurrying through this read and step gently, slowly, into the Ancestral world in the next paragraph… with ease, of course. And there, with calm curiosity and perhaps a raised eyebrow, let us see what kind of speed we might discover there!!
In the Ancestral world, a man woke up, greeted the morning, spoke with the elders, listened to the birds, and then went about his work with the calm dignity of someone who actually knew what the work was.
Now… Back to the modern world!!
In the modern world, we wake up to an alarm that may sound like a fire drill and immediately begin apologizing to time: “Sorry I’m late!” “Sorry I missed your call!” “Sorry I didn’t reply sooner!” At this rate, humanity may soon start apologizing to the clock before brushing our teeth.
The Curious Case of the Man Who Runs Without Stopping
Let us consider the modern runner. Not the athlete, no. The life runner. This man runs from meeting to meeting, airport to airport, ambition to ambition. His calendar looks like a chessboard under attack: Monday, Meeting; Tuesday, Deadline; Wednesday, Strategy session; Thursday, Networking dinner; Friday, Burnout; Then on Saturday, he attends a “wellness retreat” where someone teaches him how to breathe. Imagine explaining this to an Ancestor: “Grandfather, I paid $600 to learn breathing.” Grandfather would stare for a long time and then say quietly, “My child… have you tried simply… breathing?”
Even the Eagle Must Rest
Nature, it turns out, has always understood something the modern world has forgotten. Even the eagle, the mighty ruler of the skies, does not flap endlessly like a stressed-out office intern. The eagle soars. It glides. And eventually, it perches. Because even the eagle knows that if you keep flying without rest, eventually you will discover gravity in a very personal way. In fact, someone recently told me about a man who inspires them greatly because of his life philosophy. This man proudly declares that he is “a flyer who never perches.” Oh my dear readers… confusion must truly be a stubborn creature, because the confusion I wrestled with trying to match that energy nearly strained my spirit. A flyer who never perches? Even the eagle, the undisputed CEO of the sky, knows better than that. As for me, I would much rather be perceived as the slow village fool who sits under the tree and lets the electric cars pass by without getting one than the great flyer who eventually discovers gravity the hard way. So, I simply shook my head, laughed loudly to myself, and said with great affection: “There goes another proud invention of the modern world!”
The Traffic Jam of Civilization
Nowhere is the comedy of speed more visible than in traffic. Observe the modern driver. He accelerates aggressively, overtakes five cars, honks triumphantly… and then arrives at the same red light as everyone else. There he sits, breathing heavily and looking victorious. Next to him is a man who drove the whole way calmly. They arrive together. One is peaceful. The other looks like he just fought a lion.
The Ancestral Secret
Our Ancestors were not slow because they were incapable of speed. They were deliberate because they understood something profound: movement without direction is simply noise. They planted crops in season, told stories in the evening, and rested under trees without scheduling it in their calendars. No productivity apps, no “life hacks,” just life!
The Great Cosmic Joke
The modern world has achieved astonishing things, often in the most fragile, poor, and delicate forms. We can now send messages across the planet in a single second, yet we cannot sit quietly for five minutes without checking the very tool that makes it possible, our loyal little addictions called phones. We have high-speed internet… and low-speed peace. We have express delivery… but delayed life. We have faster planes… but fewer places where the soul can land.
Alas! The Final Irony
Imagine a man running very fast across a field, sweating, panting, determined. Someone finally stops him and asks, “Brother, where are you going?” The man pauses and says, “I don’t know… but I am making excellent time.”
And that, dear reader, may be the most accurate summary of modern civilization ever written, in my thoughts, of course.
Now, if you will excuse me… I must hurry. I am late for absolutely nothing.
