MONTREAL - It's International Slowness Day and the best way to celebrate, according to one of its organizers, is to take a deep breath. Or maybe stare at the clouds passing by.
Clemence Boucher, a Montreal community worker, got together with some friends in 2001 and picked June 21st -- the longest day of the year -- to kick off her movement.
The mother of three says she first thought of the idea of a slowness day in March, 2001 during a period when she was under a lot of stress.
"I was inspired by the sun and a slight breeze," she said Monday at a Montreal park which was the focal point for the quiet festivities.
"I thought to myself that it would be a great idea to have a collective movement to slow (things) down."
Her movement is taking off... slowly.
Nine years into the event, there were a few dozen participants at a downtown Montreal park Monday, all relaxing and enjoying music, art and yoga. Use of electricity was a no-no and there were no blaring loudspeakers to stress anyone out.
Free yoga and tai chi lessons were also offered to those struggling to unwind from life in the big city.
Boucher has a number of suggestions for how to celebrate International Slowness Day.
"Laugh at yourself, don't take yourself seriously, watch beards grow, gaze at the clouds, have fun, do nothing," she said.
The idea has actually been picked up the Quebec auto-insurance board, which today launched a campaign to try to get drivers to slow down.
"It's the same idea -- take time to slow down in a car," she said. "We have to find ways to unstress and slow down our pace."
Boucher says Italy is part of the slowness-day movement and she has friends in Greece who also planned to celebrate, along with people in a few Quebec towns.
There's also talk of starting a slowness day in Ontario, but Boucher says it hasn't quite caught on yet.
"It takes someone to get it started," she said. "We do it all with volunteers, there's no money spent."
