Slacking May Be Harder and More Rewarding Than You Think

Do you slack? Can you slack? Have you thought about slacking to create focus, turn off work, and get fit?

Slacking may not be what you think. In fact, slacking may reduce thinking. 

Are you ready to think differently about being a slacker?

You slack when you wobble atop a one-inch-wide strand of nylon webbing suspended between two poles, trees, etc.

Here is a definition from Wikipedia’s entry on slacking.

Slacklining is a balance sport which utilizes nylon webbing stretched tight between two anchor points. Slacklining is distinct from tightrope walking in that the line is not held rigidly taut; it is instead dynamic, stretching and bouncing like a long and narrow trampoline. The line’s tension can be adjusted to suit the user and different types of dynamic webbing can be used to achieve a variety of feats. The line itself is flat, due to the nature of webbing, thus keeping the slacker’s footing from rolling as would be the case with an ordinary rope. The dynamic nature of the line allows for impressive tricks and stunts.

Here are a few lines from a recent Globe and Mail article on a different way of being a slacker.

Slacking in Mr. Avery’s case is a struggle not against laxity, but against gravity. It’s slacklining, and it requires the balance of a mountain goat and the focus of a Tibetan monk. …“It’s a form of moving meditation,” says Mr. Avery, who took his first shaky steps on a slackline three years ago. “You’re concentrating on everything and nothing at the same time.”

Are you ready to really slack? If you do I strongly suggest as a slacker when you are in the middle of the rope that you don’t ask someone to “cut you some slack!”

Photo Credit: Santa slacking by http://www.flickr.com/photos/wili/329206976/