--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we walk slowly, the world can fully…" description: "\"When we walk slowly, the world can fully appear. Not only are the creatures not frightened away by our haste or aggression, but the fine detail of fern..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/joan-halifax-11817_aggression_when-we-walk-slowly-the-world-can-fully_1467719.png" --- # When we walk slowly, the world can fully appear. Not only… ![“When we walk slowly, the world can fully appear. Not only are the creatures not frightened away by our haste or aggression, but the fine detail of fern and flower, or devastation and disruption, becomes visible. Many of us hurry along because we do not want to see what is really going on in and…” quote by Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/joan-halifax-11817_aggression_when-we-walk-slowly-the-world-can-fully_1467719.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/joan-halifax-11817_aggression_when-we-walk-slowly-the-world-can-fully_1467719.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/joan-halifax-11817_aggression_when-we-walk-slowly-the-world-can-fully_1467719.png) > “When we walk slowly, the world can fully appear. Not only are the creatures not frightened away by our haste or aggression, but the fine detail of fern and flower, or devastation and disruption, becomes visible. Many of us hurry along because we do not want to see what is really going on in and around us. We are afraid to let our senses touch the body of suffering or the body of beauty” [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moving slowly lets us notice details and avoid scaring away life, revealing both beauty and suffering that haste hides. **In simple terms:** Slow walking reveals hidden details and reduces fear. Key Takeaway Observe more, rush less. Themes mindfulness observation nature compassion Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - hiking - meditation - urban walking - gardening Key Concepts presence sensory awareness interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - What details do you miss when rushed? - How can you balance speed and awareness? A Different Perspective If we move too slowly, we may miss opportunities that require quick action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Devastation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devastation/) [Disruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruption/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Haste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haste/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I resolved to move just a little bit more slowly through the world, to look around myself with greater care, and to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-resolved-to-move-just-a-little-bit-more-slowly-through-the-world-to/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I walk slowly, but I never walk backwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-walk-slowly-but-i-never-walk-backwards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't break a bad habit by throwing it out the window. You've got to walk it slowly down the stairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-can-t-break-a-bad-habit-by-throwing-it-out-the-window-you-ve-got/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ I always \[or "often"\] walk slowly, but I never walk backwards. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-always-or-often-walk-slowly-but-i-never-walk-backwards/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't run away from you.. I walk slowly & it kills me that you don't care enough to stop me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-run-away-from-you-i-walk-slowly-it-kills-me-that-you-don-t-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Do not hurry as you walk with grief; it does not help the journey. Walk slowly, pausing often: do not hurry as you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/do-not-hurry-as-you-walk-with-grief-it-does-not-help-the-journey-walk/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [When in a museum, walk slowly but keep walking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/when-in-a-museum-walk-slowly-but-keep-walking/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [We have to walk slowly and carefully because we are in a hurry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/we-have-to-walk-slowly-and-carefully-because-we-are-in-a-hurry/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [I don't run away from you. I walk slowly & it kills me that you don't care enough ti stop me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-don-t-run-away-from-you-i-walk-slowly-it-kills-me-that-you-don-t/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“We - by whom I mean anyone over sixty - commit two offenses just by existing. One is Lack of Velocity. We drive too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/we-by-whom-i-mean-anyone-over-sixty-commit-two-offenses-just-by/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“My name is someone & anyone. I walk slowly, like one who comes from so far away he doesn't expect to arrive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-name-is-someone-anyone-i-walk-slowly-like-one-who-comes-from-so/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I walk slowly into myself, through a forest of empty suits of armor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-transtromer/i-walk-slowly-into-myself-through-a-forest-of-empty-suits-of-armor/) [Tomas Transtromer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-transtromer/) > [“It will cost something to walk slowly in the parade of the ages while excited men of time rush about confusing motion with progress.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-k-walters/it-will-cost-something-to-walk-slowly-in-the-parade-of-the-ages-while/) [Wendy K. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-k-walters/) > [“he began to walk slowly around me, as a man in a museum might circle a statue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenner/he-began-to-walk-slowly-around-me-as-a-man-in-a-museum-might-circle-a/) [J. Kenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenner/) > [“Do you know why you walk slowly when you’re old?” “No.” “Because with age you receive the gift of friction. The less time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/do-you-know-why-you-walk-slowly-when-you-re-old-no-because-with-age/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More by Joan Halifax > [We have even done a weekend on Japanese grammar! Not that I know anything about Japanese grammar, but it was Kaz's idea, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/we-have-even-done-a-weekend-on-japanese-grammar-not-that-i-know/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Developing our capacity for compassion makes it possible for us to help others in a more skillful and effective way. And compassion helps us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/developing-our-capacity-for-compassion-makes-it-possible-for-us-to/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Buddhist practice is the grounding for this work, this life, this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/buddhist-practice-is-the-grounding-for-this-work-this-life-this-way/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [ We have been teaching together \[with Kaz\] now for more than twenty years in sesshins, in international travel programs in Japan and China, as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/we-have-been-teaching-together-with-kaz-now-for-more-than-twenty/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [All are interconnected...the environment; rights of the dying; care of caregivers; education and medical care for peoples of the Himalayas; prison work; those living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/all-are-interconnected-the-environment-rights-of-the-dying-care-of/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [“Within and around the earth, within and around the hills, within and around the mountains your authority returns to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/within-and-around-the-earth-within-and-around-the-hills-within-and/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [“Some of us are drawn to mountains the way the moon draws the tide. Both the great forests and the mountains live in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/some-of-us-are-drawn-to-mountains-the-way-the-moon-draws-the-tide/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [I am working on a technical paper on compassion. So I am reading everything I can on the subject, including my own mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/i-am-working-on-a-technical-paper-on-compassion-so-i-am-reading/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [ \[Kaz\] is a great scholar, very funny - a true man of no rank! ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/kaz-is-a-great-scholar-very-funny-a-true-man-of-no-rank/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Compassion has enemies, and those enemies are things like pity, moral outrage, fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/compassion-has-enemies-and-those-enemies-are-things-like-pity-moral/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [The roots of all living things are tied together. Deep in the ground of being, they tangle and embrace. This understanding is expressed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/the-roots-of-all-living-things-are-tied-together-deep-in-the-ground/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [ I remember having a discussion with \[Kaz\] about his translation of the word shunyata as "boundlessness," instead of the more traditional "emptiness." I said:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/i-remember-having-a-discussion-with-kaz-about-his-translation-of-the/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [If compassion is so good for us, why don't we train our health care providers in compassion so that they can do what they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/if-compassion-is-so-good-for-us-why-don-t-we-train-our-health-care/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [May I see my own limits with compassion, just as I view the limits of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/may-i-see-my-own-limits-with-compassion-just-as-i-view-the-limits-of/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Cease consuming, practice generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/cease-consuming-practice-generosity/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) [Explore all 57 Joan Halifax quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) ## More Aggression quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-nothing-in-our-history-or-position-to-invite-aggression-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Boxing can be so important to young people, it keeps you off the street and you can channel your energy and aggression in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-benn/boxing-can-be-so-important-to-young-people-it-keeps-you-off-the/) [Nigel Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-benn/) > [“That which is of great value cannot be attained through aggression. You will be able to find the mystery of life only if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/that-which-is-of-great-value-cannot-be-attained-through-aggression/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [I can remember watching MTV Cribs - these amazing houses - and looking around my house where there was no carpet on the floors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-can-remember-watching-mtv-cribs-these-amazing-houses-and-looking/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I really like battle ropes. They're so versatile; you can get a terrific workout doing a ton of different exercises with them. My clients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-peterson/i-really-like-battle-ropes-they-re-so-versatile-you-can-get-a/) [Gunnar Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-peterson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) Empress Dowager Cixi > [I'm not going to appeal to violence or aggression - of course not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/i-m-not-going-to-appeal-to-violence-or-aggression-of-course-not/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [This is passive-aggression in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/this-is-passive-aggression-in-action/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. When an adult hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-child-hits-a-child-we-call-it-aggression-when-a-child-hits-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Browse all 860 Aggression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we walk slowly, the world can fully appear. Not only are the creatures not frightened away by our haste or aggression, but the fine detail of fern and flower, or devastation and disruption, becomes visible. 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