Making Haste Slowly.

The times are urgent. We must slow down. Bayo Akomolafe

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. African Proverb

We seem to be suffering from an epidemic of urgency.

Everything around us is geared, even unconsciously, to speed. Exploration plays second fiddle to extraction, and innovation is subordinated to efficiency and productivity.

We find ourselves in a theatre of the absurd where we talk about creating a trillionaire within a lifetime, without paying attention to the possible consequences that might result.

Speed is infectious. It is a function of Kronos time, and I am no more immune to it than anybody else. When there is so much we need to consider on so many fronts. Speed is not the answer; it makes us blind.

The Athanor is about constancy and operates in Kairos time.

Time as a quality, not as a measure.

The athanor, the furnace of the alchemists, was never about speed or spectacle. It was built to hold a steady flame, a quiet fire that could burn for weeks without faltering. In it, substances softened, mingled, and slowly became something new. For the alchemist, the athanor was as much a mirror of the soul as a piece of equipment: a reminder that true transformation is less about flashes of brilliance than about constancy, patience, and faith in unseen processes. For today’s artisans, it offers a metaphor for our own work—creating spaces, practices, and rhythms where change can ripen in its own time.

from the introduction to this site.

I think we need to let The Athanor lead us.

Urgency and resorting to easy questions based on yesterday's experiences will not take us where we're looking to go.

This became clear in our conversation on Wednesday evening. The group we have is immensely valuable. Curious, questioning, and willing to take risks. To ask difficult questions and challenge answers in pursuit of new ideas and directions.

So perhaps trying to form a closed conversation group to the beat of Kronos time is not the right thing to do. I think we need to trust the right group to form of its own accord in Kairos time.

So I'm suggesting that for the time being, we continue as we are, and let things develop in their own way, in their own time. I will continue to focus my writing to serve this area, and we can use the capabilities of this simple site to raise questions and develop a dialogue that we can pick up on our Wednesday evening calls.

This is much too important to rush.

Richard

Also, my attention is going to be taken up with some family business for the next couple of weeks, so I will write when I can, and make sure it's something worth saying. I hope you will bear with me.