Permission To Rest

Finally reached Wujiang of Jiangsu Province yesterday after a tiring 12 hours door-to-door journey.

Read an article during the flight regarding slowing down in our life and experience life. It is really "mind-opening". Interest enough to note that France people only work for a 35 hours week. If they are unemployed, the Government will still pay them 80% of their last drawn salary for a period of up to 23 months. Medical bills are also borne by the Government and retirees can even have their glasses changed for free. Furthermore, if French are still entitle to something called "Depression Leave" for as along as 2 weeks should they encounter stress at work place. However, French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. Emm...

More interesting extract...

No-rush attitude doesn’t represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means reestablishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the “now”, present and concrete, versus the “global”, undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans’ essential values, the simplicity of living.

It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It’s time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.

Also check out this interesting web site at http://www.slowdownnow.org/