Tout s'accélère (2016) - full transcript

For many years,
I lived at high speed

As a trader,
I worked at a frantic pace,

in modern finances exhilarating
mixt of stress and speed.

I was dedicated to it 24/24, and there
was never enough time in one day.

Suddenly, time stopped.

Fast Forward

One August morning, our family doctor
told me my mother was terminally ill.

She had two years to live.

Everything collapsed.

I'd never have time for
her, if I stayed in finance.

So I quit.



I became a teacher.

I discovered the leisurely
pace of childhood,

which mustn't be rushed.

Yet I still feel
pressed for time!

The way the world is
spinning makes me feel dizzy.

Debt is mounting,
resources are dwindling.

People on the run, to keep up.

And those who have given up.

I spoke to my
fifth-graders about it.

Sit down.

Their ideas fascinated me so
much, I wanted to film them.

I'm on a soccer team.

I've noticed that every
week, new shoes come out.

New video games come
out every month or so.



Everything's going faster.
It never stops.

Going so fast,
we miss out on a lot.

But the up side is that you don't
have to wait long for things you want.

When something is new,
everyone wants to go out and buy it.

Even when they don't need it!

It seems like we feel
nothing, but deep inside,

we do get the impression
life is really flying by.

We feel sort of...
I don't know how to say it!

We never take things easy.

No one listens to us

Because we're still kids

But kids have stuff to say

It won't waste your time

Everything's speeding
up In the whole universe

We can't keep up

Going fast, flashing past

Everything's speeding up

We can't keep up

We're going to run out of air

Consumption is speeding up.

Mom, it makes me really dizzy

We thought the world was better

But it was only faster.
We'll fall

from on high.

In your notebooks,
please write down

all the questions that come
to mind about going faster.

Questions that should be asked.

To some experts who
may answer them.

What are your thoughts?
Write them down.

Then we'll go around
the room and read them.

Why did everything start speeding
up in the 1700s and 1800s,

instead of in the Middle
Ages, or in ancient times?

Will we slow down someday?

- What's your opinion?
- No. But we'll have to.

Things will stop completely.

Will our children
live the way we do?

How long before our ways
of life change drastically?

How long before we
run out of resources?

Why rush,
when we have plenty of time?

We're beyond "urgent."

Or extra-urgent.
We're at EEU - extra, extra-urgent.

The fact that the time of the world
is represented as being extremely fast

creates the feeling
in each of us

that he isn't in pace with his
times, that he is falling behind.

Quite unconsciously,
that generates

a form of collective guilt.

As if we were all behind,
in terms of history.

The world is constantly
changing, changing fast.

By definition,
we're doomed to keep trying to catch up.

Like a race car driver,
steering the curves at top speed,

on a circuitous track.

He can't slow down to look at
a map or to check the engine,

because he doesn't have time.

Our parents are
always on the run,

because their boss keeps
telling them to go faster.

They never slow down.

At work, the boss is
saying, "Faster, faster!"

And we do as he says.

But in the end,
we never get ahead.

We don't get ahead.

Because we've been
racing for so long

we get nervous, from the
tension, and we make mistakes.

It's not always
great, going that fast

For instance, at your job, the boss
wants you to work faster and faster.

You get stressed out and
need anti-depressants.

It's complicated.
Everyone is stressed out.

We all have problems.

But you have to tell yourself

it's not that horrible.

You have to reassure yourself.
It's good, despite that.

Technology, for instance.

It's gotten much more efficient.
Computers are a lot faster.

Before isn't like now anymore.

We used to take the time
to make the objects we use.

But now we want things
ready-made, right away.

We rush, we rush,

we don't even realize that we
don't make beautiful things

Outside, maybe, but not inside.

The most intimate and personal
experience anyone has,

our relation to time,
has changed in the past 20 years.

I remember feeling
it physically.

Physically,
I felt this sort of obligation

constantly to be in the now,
and to be racing to do things.

It didn't strike me the same
way, before.

Just look at the data streams.

Sometimes,
I just want to take my computer

and drown it!

I can't keep up!

It really is due to
the new technology.

They started this
headlong acceleration.

An acceleration in
our relation to time.

Our relation to time has
always been accelerating.

Especially in the 20th century.

This acceleration became
breathtaking headlong

starting in the 1990s, I'd say.

It was directly linked

to widespread computer use.

Computerization changed certain
important business methods.

The main thing

is the immediate
availability of information,

all over the world,
covering the planet.

Everyone is aware.
It's transparent, in a flash.

What does that lead to?
Decentralization.

But the decentralization occurs
under globalized surveillance.

So the system is peculiar.

People are much freer,

but they are forced to
be much more transparent.

There is freedom,
but it has restrictions.

Not that the world is Orwellian.

The camera doesn't
see everything you do.

But it is a danger.

As a result,
that world is not an ideal one.

From the standpoint of total
fulfillment of the individual.

I was hearing it during
my studies in firms

"We have to be hyper-reactive,"
I'd never heard that before.

"My boss wants instant answers."

People used to speak of stress,
but now time is always present.

Time is experienced as
being the cause and source

of something that
generates a lot of anxiety.

All the warning lights are red.

More and more of us realize

that we are wearing out human
beings, along with planet Earth.

There is crisis upon crisis,

so many, the word is meaningless,
and each crisis is worse than the last.

A systemic crisis may result.

Excess is what they
all have in common.

We don't know how to set limits.

In a way, we're all burning out,

from the pace,
from the potential to do everything,

to conquer everything.

In the West, at least.

We consume, and are consumed.

It's our human side.
It's the charming thing about us.

If we'd set limits for ourselves,
we wouldn't have discovered

other continents,
or other planets.

But we are quickly reaching the
brink psychologically and physically.

Now, let's see if mathematics

can help us understand
this acceleration.

What makes these graphs similar?

The closer we get to now...
At first, the lines are flat.

But as we get closer to
today, they rise sharply.

- What do you see?
- A wall.

I see an elevator.

An elevator!

It takes us all the way
up to the sky, then.

Climate experts know there have
always been hot and cold cycles.

But in a century or two,
we have begun to trigger the cycles.

Changes that should
occur gradually,

over tens or hundreds
of thousands of years,

may occur in a spark of
time, in a few decades.

That's what shows us

the scale has changed.

Man has become his
own geological force.

At one point, humans realized

how fossil fuels like coal
and oil could be used,

to increase muscular
power exponentially.

The Internet increased our
intellectual power exponentially.

That change in scale occurred
in practically no time.

Moreover,
our attention span has changed.

Extraordinary feats almost
instantly cease to amaze us.

They become the norm.

I witnessed this acceleration.

In other words,
the decline in biodiversity,

loss of habitat,
shrinking ice caps...

Climate change, etc. I saw it!

In my brief lifetime.
That's all wrong.

On TV or the radio,
have you heard people talking

about growth?

There are lots of kinds of growth.
Getting taller, for instance.

When prices get bigger.

And growth means other things.
There's economic growth.

And more, too.

The economic growth rate is an
increase in percentage points.

But the numbers
are always growing.

So the value of the
growth rate increases.

Let's say we have a
growth rate of 10%

Every year, we increase by 10%,
compared to the year before.

How many years will it take
for us to double in size?

It'll take seven years...

for us to double,
at a rate of 10%.

If China's GDP continues to
grow at an annual rate of 10%,

how many times bigger will it
be, in 2050, compared to 2008?

Think!

I subtracted 2008 from 2050,

The difference is 42 years.

42 is a multiple of six.

So you do two to the sixth
power, and it equals 64.

Do you think it'll be possible
to multiply the wealth by 64

by the year 2050?

- Is it possible?
- Everything is possible, they say.

I think, okay,
maybe it'll be possible.

But I think we should
slow down before then.

64 countries the size of China
are going to overload the planet.

It's an awful lot.

Economic growth is occurring
in densely populated countries.

Emerging economies are those that
are just beginning to prosper.

This gives rise to phenomena
we have never witnessed.

They disturb planetary balances,

simply because the new
demands are so massive.

Look at the construction
trades, for example.

Or even the automotive industry.

Half of the world's total
demand comes from China.

If it keeps doubling that fast,

we won't have anything left,
because we'll need too much!

Everything will be
dangerously high.

And all will fall
down, like in the song.

I'm sorry to remind you, sirs

But it's elementary.

When we run out of resources,

it will be the end...

of the race.

We consume more,
we produce more,

we live longer.

So there are more of us.

So you're at peak
consumption, peak production,

peak pollution,
and peak population.

It's an undesirable side
effect of progress and success.

At first glance, we seem to be better.
We live longer,

in many parts of the
world, at least.

We suffer less,
we have more food, etc.

So how to explain people

that this is a sign
of impending doom

that it may topple down.

We have a bottle,

and early one morning,
we put two little germs in it.

Two tiny red dots,
almost invisible.

Two little dots.

And these two germs
reproduce fast.

The population
doubles every minute.

We know that at noon,

I'll write "12 PM"
on the board...

the bottle is full, to the brim.

The question is,

if the germs were able to think,

when would they get worried,
and realize they were running out of room

Maybe right after they
hit the halfway mark?

If they're thinking straight,
and know they double,

when they've filled the bottle
halfway, at 11:59 AM,

they realize they're
running out of room.

Here it is, 11:57 AM.

There is absolutely no sign

that space is running out.

But how many minutes

until noon, when the bottle is
full, and there's no more room'?

- Bouna?
- Three minutes.

Only three minutes.

Three minutes left to live,
but they don't realize it.

They look around and say,
"There's plenty of room for me!"

But they're mistaken!

That's the problem with
doubling every time.

We reach the limit fast!
That's the sharp rise on the graph.

But there's big news.

One germ, at 11:59 and 59
seconds, as Anaïs said,

returns from an expedition.

It had gone on a quest for other
bottles, more space.

And it has amazing news!
It found three empty bottles!

At noon, the germs can now
go colonize new bottles.

How long is the reprieve?

Do we start with the full
bottle, each time?

Yes. One full bottle will
double, in one minute.

How long will they survive?

They have until 12:02.

Good, Johanna!
The bottle is full at noon.

At 12:01, the population doubles,
and fills the first new bottle.

And at 12:02, these two bottles
fill the two empty bottles.

Just two minutes!

It's the same way on Earth!

Even if we find other planets,
we'll fill them up, too.

It'll only take a few years.

But what drives us
to keep going fast

The stronger our growth, the sharper
our rise, and the sooner we peak.

Why do you think every
country in the world

tries to increase its growth?

Usually, when you have
lots and lots of things,

you feel more powerful.

You're stronger.

Countries do it to show off.

"Look! China is the second-richest
country in the world."

It attracts
attention and people.

Everybody thinks it's
magnificent to be so rich.

All the countries should be happy
with what they already have.

But everyone always wants more.

Since the others want
more, we want more, too.

The grass is always greener!

But the end will be the
end, for everyone.

A record-breaking performance
will be challenged

by one that is even
bigger and better.

Ever greater excellence.

Something that was fixed, at
first, becomes something relative.

It will always be trying to
outdo its whatever it is.

And to outdo the others.

Eric Julien told me a story about hosting
three shamans Buddhist monks visiting France.

They had come to meet other
spiritual and religious authorities.

He met them at the
airport, with his car.

They had never traveled.

And at one point,
the highway went through a tunnel.

They were amazed, because mountains
are sacred, in their country.

Many things are sacred.

They asked Eric, "Why did your
people dig a hole in the mountain?"

Eric told them they'd dug a
tunnel so they could go faster.

So, one of the
"mamous" asked him,

"Where do you want to go,
so fast?" "We want to go farther!"

Then the shaman said
something amazing,

Julien was speechless.

“How far do you want to go faster and farther?
"How far do you think you can go, that fast?"

This question is essential.

We don't ask it, anymore.

Do you know the old saying,

"Better is the enemy of good."

You try to do something very
well, but if you try too hard,

you're bound to screw it up.

It's true.

In 1987, in "Chaos
Management," Tom Peters said

"No, that's backwards.

"Good is the enemy of better."

The idea is not at all to do things
well enough, and remain reasonable.

The idea is that it's never
good enough "Keep doing better!"

Why does constant
competition cause a problem?

It leads to fights!

Okay, go on...

You may even fight with
your friends and lose them,

from competition.

Also, if you're dead
set on being the best,

and you're not,
you feel disappointed

You may be so disappointed,
you lose self-confidence,

and stop working.

Sometimes,
to be the best in the class...

Say somebody is a little behind
the person who's best in the class,

His parents may pick on him

to make him work even harder.

Even if the kid does get to be number
one, he's unhappy.

And the ones with poorer marks

may feel rejected,
because of that.

There is an acceleration.
An acceleration in pace.

The stock exchange, for instance.
And communication.

Even the editing on
the stories on TV news.

Shots are shorter and shorter.

So it feels as though reality
itself is speeding up.

But that is a confusion of
reality and how it is represented.

There are 2 billion people on Earth
who have never seen a power outlet.

They would not say the
world is accelerating.

What I see as symptomatic
of post-modernity

is that we are no longer
in synchronous times.

Some people live their
lives at a feverish pace.

Others are waiting, mired in
boredom, barely moving ahead at all.

But we don't see them.

In a race, if you run
fast, you might win.

But if you go too fast,
you run out of energy and slow down.

Exactly right!

Can you remember a fable about
someone who went slower...

"The Tortoise and the Hare"!

Good morning, ma'am.
We clocked you exceeding the speed limit

on the sidewalk.

You must go back and walk more
slowly pulling this turtle.

I'll pull the turtle,
but I can't go back. I'm late.

That's life in Paris! It's hard.

But she did go back!

Is this too fast?

Is it right?

Not so fast.

- Why?
- You exceeded the speed limit.

Slow down! Nice and slow.

They say you should stick to a steady
pace, to maintain energy.

But in this example,
we can draw certain parallels.

Energy stands for
natural resources.

And the runners are human beings
- the whole world population.

At some point, we'll stop.
We'll become aware.

We can't just keep increasing all the time.
That's crazy.

Loser or winner, is anyone
getting ahead in this competition?

How can we measure anything?
With money?

Can you think of a
saying related to time

and money?

"Time is money"!

If you believe that saying,
every minute is money.

So since your goal is to make
as much money as possible,

you have to work
every single minute.

More and more money.

In a business, when the boss
gives his employees a pep talk,

he tells them, "Hurry up,
or the company will lose money."

Or he might say, "Hurry up.

"And we'll make more money."

You may not know this
saying, but here it is:

"Fill the hourglass with money,
and you fill your life with problems."

Actually,
people think only of money,

so they don't live
their lives anymore.

Why is it that people who have
enormous amounts of money,

amounts that would be plenty,
for people like us, to live on,

if we just spent moderately,
not too much, not too little...

Why do they want more,
even though they have millions?

They already have enough.

What drives them?
Why do they do it?

If they always want more money,

they're money addicts.
They're addicted to money.

Like drug addicts,
who always want more drugs.

It can kill them.

Well, maybe not. But yes!

It's as though money eats your
brain, so that's all you think of.

All you have in your head is
"Money, money, money."

Maybe they think being
rich makes them superior.

So they want to be richer,
to feel more superior.

The world of finance is
closely paired with time.

It imposes its laws on us.

It leads you to believe that money is
the dominant value in our societies.

But in reality,
many people contest that assertion.

Money cannot claim to
be a universal value.

The debt itself is
not the real question.

It's financing the
deficit with the debt.

Financing the deficit with the
debt is a denial of reality.

The world of finance

has made it easy for politicians to
deny reality, instead of facing it

That's my belief.

It was convenient for politicians
to postpone solving problems.

And bankers collected profits
on interest rates and bonds.

So the world of politics colluded
with the world of finance.

Are we headed for a society
that is split in two?

Financially, economically,
and socially?

As a trader,
I saw the power of money.

Yet money is only
a tool for parity.

How did it become the
instrument for our disparity?

Disparity between
Man and Nature,

and disparity
between man and man.

Maybe there is a sort of nomadic,
extremely rich oligarchy,

traveling by helicopter,
hopping from London to Paris,

totally oblivious to
material limitations.

Meanwhile, the rest of the people,
excluded from the oligarchy,

are locked in daily drudgery.

No matter what, emergencies end
up settling themselves somehow.

In one way or another,

the world of tomorrow will be
radically different from ours.

Our only choice is whether we determine
it, or it determines us.

Growth supplies people

with things that
make them happy.

There's a positive side to going
faster - or we'd slow down.

There are things people
don't like to do.

Machines do those
tasks for them.

Machines don't
care what they do.

You kids were born
in the digital age.

In the age of computers,
cell phones, and all that.

How has all of this changed
the world and people's lives?

Before, to send a message
over a big distance,

it took at least ten days.

Now, it takes only one
day, or maybe one minute!

Look, there are keyboards.
But where are the screens?

Back then,
it went on your TV screen.

- Where's the mouse?
- There were none!

The theme of this
room is energy.

To keep a machine running,
or to speed it up,

you have to give it
some fuel for energy.

Look at this! See what they are?

All these incredible
machines, invented for speed.

And the museum doesn't show

home appliances like washing
machines or dishwashers.

The microwave.

All of these
time-saving machines.

With all of these inventions
that save people time,

why do so many people
say they don't have time?

"I can't! No time!"

They got used to saving time,
more and more, with machines.

So they filled up their
spare time in other ways.

So they feel like
they don't have time.

We invented time-keeping,
but now we're ruled by the clock.

We should be the ones to
choose when we do this or that.

Instead, the clock tells us.

The more time goes on,
the more we're slaves to the clock.

We're always trying to
fill up our spare time.

We become obsessed with time.

We become more like slaves,
the longer time goes on.

But if we try to control time - to
ask for more, and stuff like that,

we feel like masters,
but we're still slaves.

We're not the masters of time.
Time is our master.

Humanity made the transition
from personal time,

governed by day and night,
and seasonal chores,

to a form of time that is segmented
the same way for everyone.

That synchronism was the first
phase of the industrial era,

which led to where we are now.

I think we like being rushed.

Because our lack of spare time
is a symptom of our freedom.

We are well aware we could visit
1,000 museums and galleries a year,

because we have the possibility

to busy ourselves as we wish
for the first time in history.

We say we don't have enough
time, because we are free.

My great-grandmother spent all day
every Thursday doing the laundry.

She had absolutely no free time.

But she never said she
didn't have enough time.

In other words,

there was a sort of harmony,
between subjective experience of time

and "cosmic time," let's say -

the time that was imposed on
individuals by community life.

Community life had meaning.

Today, people are by
themselves much more.

Technology multiplies his
possibilities tenfold.

So he wants to saturate his
schedule with activities,

to crowd out an emptiness that
would make him feel guilty.

So we shouldn't complain.

All this is the
result of a desire

that isn't necessarily
expressed.

But this desire drives us
to saturate our schedules,

because busy-mess gives us an
ontology, some existential weight.

When you're swamped with
work, you exist.

There's a sort of enjoyment

in having the power to
say you don't have time.

Plus, it's a good excuse
to shut out others.

An excuse to say "No"
to their requests.

You can avoid taking care of
them, because you're too busy.

It's convenient! For everyone.

Doubtless, they'll build us an
even faster high-speed train.

New tracks will need to be laid.

When will it end'?

We almost demolished a
remarkable landscape in Provence,

so that the high-speed train would
reach Nice 10 minutes earlier.

That, to me,
is a sign of addiction.

It's a question of limits.
Of balance.

People call me a Luddite, but at
some point, you have to be satisfied.

And we don't know
how to do that.

Is this speed

something we hate,
or something we love?

Maybe it acts on us like a drug.

Attracting us...

and repelling us.

How does acceleration
feel physically?

Why do so many
drivers love speed?

Going fast gives you
a physical thrill.

You feel good. Powerful.

People just love the sensation
they feel when they accelerate.

Acceleration makes
you feel powerful.

The main thrill is being
faster than the others.

It's fun to go super fast.

On the roller-coaster,
for instance.

What happens to your
heart, on a roller-coaster?

It beats very fast.

It's weird, because you're
scared, but you want another ride.

Because it's something
you really want.

As though you want to be scared.
That's weird.

When you go really fast,

what do you NOT think of?

Time.

Time, stress, all of that.
All of that agitation.

You don't think of danger.

Even if you don't
think of dying,

and if you die, at least you
had fun right before you died.

You don't think of death,
because it's so much fun.

Even if you die, you die happy.

When you exceed the limits,
you're proud of yourself.

That's why people are driven
to go faster and faster.

Acceleration is like gasoline.
You need it.

It's like natural resources.

Too much speeding will lead to a
breakdown, a total stop.

That's a great analogy.

You start with a
full tank of gas.

But if you drive fast,
you run out fast.

Everyone is so pessimistic!

"If I drive at 200 mph, I'll use up
gas, or I'll have an accident."

But driving fast is really fun.
So people should just enjoy it.

Even if they waste
gas, or risk dying.

Life is something to be enjoyed.

It's all very understandable.

Man is aware that
ultimately, we all die.

That knowledge creates an anxiety we
busily ignore, conceal, or disguise.

We know we'll die,
but we don't want to believe it.

The best way to avoid the
truth is to disguise it.

Today, we are well supplied
with drugs to do that.

Speed is invigorating.
People enjoy it.

Speed is not
constantly oppressive.

It can be liberating.

Urgency is an adrenaline rush.

Actually, the pleasure the
students describe so well,

on the roller-coaster,

is just...

It makes your heart beat faster,
It releases a flow of adrenaline.

And that gives you a
burst of physical power.

You feel strong and fast.

The other day,
I had to cross town from the TV studio

to my university lecture, fast.

So I had my first
motorcycle-taxi ride.

I went from one place to
the other in ten minutes.

Zig-zagging on the beltway.

What fun!

When you're in love,
you function differently

from when you're not in love.

Something comes over
you, somehow.

You positively glow with energy.
It's the same!

It's totally understandable.
There's no reason to despair.

But we will have to correct it.

Civilization can be defined as
the ability to correct such flaws.

Because as we go
along, we go astray.

Are we still able to
slow the machines,

so that we can hear
our heartbeats?

Calmly.

Inside.

Today,

when my kids ask me what the
world will be like in 2050,

how the energy issue
will be settled,

whether gasoline will be
cheap, how airplanes will fly,

I tell them,
"I don't know, guys!"

I don't know how to
draw a picture of 2050,

let alone 2100.

It's as if the prediction
machine had busted its springs.

We have to be lenient.

When people in the future
look back on our times,

the past 150 years,
and the 20th century, mainly,

it's clear we lost control.

The level of panic
today is so high

that we are more apt to think
about the end of the world

than to change the world.

As if our doom were more certain

than the possibility of
changing our way of life.

Remember what Socrates said,

at the market in Athens?

"So many things I don't need!"

We don't really need
all of our possessions.

When we watch TV,
and a commercial comes on,

we think, "Wow,
that looks really cool!"

But if we hadn't seen the commercial,
we wouldn't even have known

there was such a thing.

We wouldn't want to have it.

We keep complaining about
how much we consume, or shop.

But it's hypocritical!
We shop too!

We never stop!

We're all talk and no action.

Cutting down is not
our top priority.

Now, let's begin to
think of solutions!

Pay attention to what
I write on the board.

It's an illogical statement.

But I want you to think about
what it might mean, anyway.

"Less...

"is more."

I know, usually less is
the opposite of more.

The idea is,

if we try

to do less,
we'll end up with more.

And if we try to do more,
we'll end up with less.

- We're less stressed out.
- When?

When we take more time.

People have lost their
ability to enjoy life,

because work always
stresses them out.

Even when they rest,

instead of clearing
out their heads,

they're thinking,
"I'm wasting my time!"

So they're still stressed out!

Constant stress.

It's like the story
of the blacksmith.

When he worked,
he didn't earn much.

But he was happy.

He loved his work.

He saw his son and wife.

He stayed home with them.

But when he worked in the
factory, he never saw them.

He'd come home and sleep.

As soon as he woke up in the
morning, he went to work.

Day after day.

Like Saphwen said,

the blacksmith wasn't a rich
man, like rich people today.

But he was happy.

He was able to feed his family,
and he had his family's love.

That's what made him happy.

We are talking a lot
about the problems

caused by the fact
that our whole society

is always engaged in
some sort of competition,

always trying to do better
than others and than oneself.

As you've seen,
we're reaching the limits.

I want you kids to think,
all of you, please think.

If you had a message
for the world,

what advice would you give,

so that you guys,
the future generations,

have a more manageable
society to deal with?

Instead of one that's
headed for doom

at top speed?

If they got stuck with the
pollution, they'd understand.

It has to be something
quite simple.

I'd just tell them

everybody's complaining,
everybody says slow down,

but nobody does it.
There should be more action and less talk.

Complaining is useless.

We have to be careful
not to lie to ourselves.

If you can't manage to find
time for what's essential,

you have to wonder about your
definition of the essential.

We're racing against time,

And that's on our mind.

Yet we continue to hurry

That reaction

ls a mystery.

How do you feel'?

What has changed?
How do you feel now,

compared to in the city?

What feels different,
when you're in a natural setting?

It's a lot more peaceful,
without the noise from the cars

and the Metro.

And crowds of pedestrians.

All that traffic is stressful.
Here, it's peaceful.

It's relaxing to hear the
birds instead of kids shouting.

It's not that great.
There are tons of bugs, biting us.

It's irritating!

Does time feel different
in a setting like this?

Time seems to pass more slowly
here, in the country.

In the city, all that traffic
makes you feel stressed out.

Time seems to race by.

There's more to look at here.
There are trees and animals.

There's more to
learn than in a city.

I owe my salvation to Nature.
It is my greatest source of emotion,

of balance, of awe.

Being in Nature is what
structured me as a human being.

To love beauty...

Free beauty.

A gift...

Let Time pass.

All that stuff is meaningless.
We invented it.

We said, "There will be
this thing called time,

"and we'll think of it as
something that passes."

Like a whatchamacallit...

From birth to death.
That's a good way to think of Time.

Heidegger said

that Time is actually Death.

In other words, "time" and "death"
are just two words for the same thing.

Heidegger also says death
constantly corrodes our existence.

It haunts us while we are alive.

It erodes our vitality,

and brings us closer
to the final exit.

But I disagree with Heidegger.

I think Death is...

an obligation. inescapable.

But it doesn't influence the present.
It's just a moment in the future.

Death awaits us, somewhere.

And I think

death arouses more anxiety now,

because we don't see it anymore.

In the early 1900s, for instance, people
were accustomed to seeing friends die.

Schoolmates might die...

People died throughout life.

Not to mention soldiers dying.

Death was always present,

no matter how old a person was.

Nowadays, people generally die of old
age, and not before.

And their dying is hidden.

Death is absent.

But that doesn't mean...

This seeming eradication of
death does not reassure us.

The anxiety is spread out now,

into a multitude of
little daily fears.

We're afraid of our food,
of sex, of traveling.

We see risks everywhere.

And at the same time,

we want our lives, our only
lives, to be successful.

So we evaluate our
lives constantly.

And constantly, because our models
are so lofty, we think we're failing.

So we want to do more.

That's how, little by little,

because we think we
have one life to live,

and death will put
an end to everything.

We constantly
saturate our schedules

to increase the quality
of our self-assessment.

That's exhausting!

One of your students noticed

that we've fragmented and
intensified time so much

that we miss out on life.
We don't taste it, and enjoy it!

I believe that a well-balanced
life includes some boredom,

some rest, some contemplation.

Have you noticed that at
times when you're frantic,

focused on work,
you don't listen to music.

But have you ever realized

how music catches up with you,
and infuses you with life,

when you're totally immersed
in some absurd race?

Can giving up be learnt?

How can a whole society do it?

Over geological time,
our failure would be minor.

Humanity wandered up this
path in search of itself.

The way other hominids have
appeared, and disappeared.

Some branches succeeded;
others didn't.

Homo sapiens failed,
blinded by its own powers.

I have every reason to despair,
but I still have some faith.

I've been lucky to see
many different cultures,

not just Westerners.

And even in the West I've met
extraordinary men and women.

Humanity also means
empathy, generosity...

Strength.

We kids, we say Wait!

The planet Earth is just great!

Love is the way to live

Enjoy the love you have to give

I do see an ideal life,
but it may not be doable for everyone.

Ideally, you would decide
on the meaning of your life,

and you would
concentrate on the deeds

dictated by your
sense of purpose.

Once you find life's meaning,
everything makes sense.

Time stops being an enemy.

It is an ally,
who helps build things.

Time is a concept. It's not real.
Man simply out time into pieces.

He invented a way
to speed things up.

We're the ones who
pass, not time.

Our lifetime is
sort of like time.

Time isn't something real.

Being a schoolteacher helped
me endure my mother's illness.

I was facing questions
of time and death,

and being in touch with young,
growing lives gave me perspective.

The mysteries of death are
linked to the mysteries of life.

They are two sides
of the same coin.

Death is necessary for rebirth.

When I see all the threats
looming on the world's horizon,

thoughts of the kids
brighten my skies.

They are so full of life and
the promise of the future.

They are tomorrow.
They are our hope.

I hope I handed over the torch.

Everything's speeding up.

In the whole universe

Since Man has been on Earth.

Everything's speeding
up, to our dismay

We're going to
suffocate someday!