Life in a slow lane

2025 marked my first year away from corporate life. After leaving Microsoft in September 2024, I entered the new year with no expectations, only the intention to take a break. I wanted to experience and observe my own movements—both physical and mental—along with the anxieties, fears, and excitements that came with them. The early experience felt much like a child learning to walk—slow, uncertain, and full of wonder. Every day was a new day, not controlled by a calendar. I could move my tasks without asking. A true freedom.

As I began to explore, I became increasingly interested in the nature and structure of The Slow within human experience. My 35 years in the corporate world were defined by fast, fleeting moments; I had never truly known what it meant to slow down. In a society that worships speed—fast food, fast technology, rapid decisions—The Slow emerged as a counterpoint. It invited me to pause, breathe, and reconsider the velocity of my life, not just in how I work or eat, but in how I move, exist, and think—or even choose not to think.

During my research, I encountered an article about the Japanese concept of shikantaza, which profoundly influenced my perspective. In Zen practice, shikantaza (只管打坐), or “just sitting,” represents the radical edge of slowness. It is not about doing less, but about doing nothing—no goal, no technique, no purpose. Just sitting. In shikantaza, stopping is not stagnation; it is transformation. When we cease our habitual activity—both mental and physical—we do not fall into emptiness. Instead, we arrive in presence: a subtle, spacious awareness that is not passive, but deeply alive. I started sitting in the morning. I was moving from Doing to Being. A sense of Being-awareness began to develop. 

Being-awareness is not a trance or blankness but a tranquil, non-attached presence that observes the field of consciousness without picking and choosing. Some Zen teachers call this “just-awareness.”  This is a core Zen expression of non-doing: an alert, dignified resting in what is, where action can still happen, but it arises from clarity and ease rather than from compulsion to always be doing. Out of this space, https://lifeinaslowlane.com/ was created to share reflections, perceptions, and realities of our imperfect yet beautiful world.

In physics, reflection refers to the redirection of light, whether from a transparent medium like water or an opaque one like a mirror. In both cases, not all the light is redirected; some is absorbed by the medium. Similarly, in our subjective experiences, some thinking is absorbed into memory, while most thoughts simply arise and dissipate. This analogy makes “reflection” the perfect word to describe my journey.

As I look back on 2025, I feel a deep desire to share my reflections that linger in my mind. While I may never fully portray the entirety of my subjective experience, I am committed to sharing the emotions and insights from those times with all of you.

What you will find in the next two blogs are those absorbed thoughts—memories and interpretations of my experiences. I hope that this exercise brings me greater clarity and offers the same to you, the reader.