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<v Speaker 1>Us studious. Welcome to the Stillness Journal, Am Maya, and

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<v Speaker 1>to day. I want to talk about something radical in

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<v Speaker 1>our speed obsessed world. Slowing down, not because you're failing,

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<v Speaker 1>not because something is wrong, but because speed has a cost,

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<v Speaker 1>and most of us have been paying it without realizing.

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<v Speaker 1>Settle in, find your position, let your body become still,

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<v Speaker 1>And notice, is there a part of you that feels

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<v Speaker 1>rushed even right now in this quiet moment, a part

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<v Speaker 1>that says, let's get through this quickly so I can

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<v Speaker 1>move on. If so, Notice it without judgment. That sense

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<v Speaker 1>of urgency is familiar. It lives in many of us,

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<v Speaker 1>and today we're going to question whether it's still serving you.

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<v Speaker 1>We move fast, we eat fast, we talk fast, we

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<v Speaker 1>make decisions fast, we scroll fast, swipe fast, respond fast.

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<v Speaker 1>We've become so accustomed to speed that slowness feels wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>like we're falling behind, like we're wasting time, like everyone

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<v Speaker 1>else is moving at the speed of life and we're

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<v Speaker 1>stuck in slow motion. And that feeling, that constant sense

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<v Speaker 1>of being behind, it doesn't come from reality. It comes

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<v Speaker 1>from a world that has taught us that time is

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<v Speaker 1>a resource we must spend wisely, that every moment must

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<v Speaker 1>be optimized that rest is something to be earned after

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<v Speaker 1>we've produced enough. But here's the thing about speed. It

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<v Speaker 1>costs you depth. When you move fast through a conversation,

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<v Speaker 1>you missed the emotion underneath the words. When you eat fast,

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<v Speaker 1>you miss the nourishment. When you think fast, you miss

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<v Speaker 1>the nuance. When you leave fast, you miss your life.

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<v Speaker 1>And I don't say that lightly. I say it as

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<v Speaker 1>someone who spent years moving so quickly through my days

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<v Speaker 1>that I couldn't remember what I'd done on Monday by

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<v Speaker 1>the time Friday arrived. My weeks blurred together, my years

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<v Speaker 1>blurred together, and when people asked me about my life,

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<v Speaker 1>I had to piece it together from my calendar because

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<v Speaker 1>I hadn't been present enough to remember it firsthand. I

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<v Speaker 1>remember one evening years ago when I was rushing through

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<v Speaker 1>dinner so I could finish an email. I was barely

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<v Speaker 1>tasting the food, I was barely present with the person

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<v Speaker 1>sitting across from me, and I looked up and realized

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<v Speaker 1>that the conversation had ended, the food was gone, and

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<v Speaker 1>I had no memory of any of it. The hour

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<v Speaker 1>had passed, but I hadn't lived it. I had just

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<v Speaker 1>survived it, and I remember thinking, is this what my

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<v Speaker 1>life is going to be? A series of hours I

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<v Speaker 1>rushed through so I can get to the next thing.

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<v Speaker 1>When does the next thing actually start? When does the

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<v Speaker 1>leaving begin? The philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, all of humanity's

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<v Speaker 1>problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think he was right, not because stillness solves problems,

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<v Speaker 1>but because stillness allows us to see clearly enough to

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<v Speaker 1>know which problems are real and which ones we invented.

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<v Speaker 1>When you slow down enough to actually sit with your thoughts,

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<v Speaker 1>you start to notice something. Many of the things you

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<v Speaker 1>worry about don't matter as much as you thought. The

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<v Speaker 1>email you didn't send it can wait. The argument you

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<v Speaker 1>replayed in your mind. The other person has probably forgotten

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<v Speaker 1>about it. The deadline that felt so urgent. It's just

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<v Speaker 1>a date on a calendar, And when you stop rushing

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<v Speaker 1>toward it, you often find you have more time than

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<v Speaker 1>you thought. I think about my mother sometimes she moved

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<v Speaker 1>slowly through her mornings, deliberately, intentionally. She would sit with

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<v Speaker 1>her tea and watch the light come through the kitchen window.

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<v Speaker 1>She wasn't being lazy, she was being present. She was

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<v Speaker 1>filling herself up before the day asked her for anything.

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<v Speaker 1>And I realize now that what she was teaching me

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<v Speaker 1>without ever saying a word, was that there is a

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<v Speaker 1>kind of richness that only exists in slow It's the

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<v Speaker 1>richness of noticing, the richness of being where you are,

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<v Speaker 1>the richness of not being anywhere else. When you slow down,

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<v Speaker 1>something shifts. The urgent becomes less urgent, the prices becomes

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<v Speaker 1>less catastrophic, The noise quiets, and in that quieter space

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<v Speaker 1>you can hear things you couldn't hear before, the small

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<v Speaker 1>voice of intuition, the quiet truth you've been avoiding, the

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<v Speaker 1>subtle signs that something needs to change. You start to

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<v Speaker 1>hear your own heart, not the one beating in your chest,

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<v Speaker 1>but the one speaking to you about what you need,

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<v Speaker 1>what you want, what matters, and you can't hear it

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<v Speaker 1>when you're running. There's a practice in meditation called choiceless awareness,

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<v Speaker 1>where you simply sit and let whatever rises arise. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't choose a focus, you don't direct your attention. You

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<v Speaker 1>just let your mind be open like a bull, and

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<v Speaker 1>whatever falls into it you hold. And what's remarkable about

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<v Speaker 1>this practice is what happens when you stop trying to

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<v Speaker 1>control the experience. You start to see things you've been

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<v Speaker 1>filtering out. A sound you hadn't noticed, a feeling in

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<v Speaker 1>your body, a thought that's been waiting patiently for you

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<v Speaker 1>to slow down enough to hear it. The world is

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<v Speaker 1>full of quiet truths, but they're only audible to the still.

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<v Speaker 1>And there's something else that happens when you slow down.

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<v Speaker 1>You start to feel again, not the manufactured emotions of

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<v Speaker 1>social media or the adrenaline spikes of dead lines, but

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<v Speaker 1>real feeling. The sadness you've been out running, the longing

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<v Speaker 1>you've been filling with activity, the grief that lives in

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<v Speaker 1>the quiet spaces. When you slow down, you might feel

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<v Speaker 1>these things. And that's not a problem. That's a gift,

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<v Speaker 1>because you can only heal what you feel, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can only feel when you're still to let it in.

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<v Speaker 1>Slowing down isn't just about productivity. It's about coming home

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<v Speaker 1>to your own emotional life. It's about remembering that you

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<v Speaker 1>are not just a body that moves and a mind

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<v Speaker 1>that thinks. You are also a heart that feels, and

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<v Speaker 1>that heart deserves your attention. I used to think slowing

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<v Speaker 1>down meant I was giving up that if I wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>moving fast, I wasn't trying hard enough. But I've come

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<v Speaker 1>to see that the opposite is true. Slowing down takes

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<v Speaker 1>more strength than speeding up, because when you slow down,

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<v Speaker 1>you have to feel everything. You can't outrun the discomfort,

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<v Speaker 1>you can't hide in the blur of activity. You have

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<v Speaker 1>to sit with what's there, the boredom, the fear, the grief,

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<v Speaker 1>the emptiness, and stay anyway. That takes more courage than

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<v Speaker 1>any deadline or achievement. It takes the courage to be

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<v Speaker 1>with yourself honestly, without distraction. Let's practice. We're going to

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<v Speaker 1>take three breadths, but we're going to make them the

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<v Speaker 1>slowest breaths you've taken all day, not deep slow, Let

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<v Speaker 1>it inhale take five full seconds, let the exhale take seven.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll count, and as you breathe, notice what happens in

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<v Speaker 1>your body when you give yourself permission to move slowly.

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<v Speaker 1>Notice the muscles that soften, the tension that releases, the

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<v Speaker 1>shoulders that drop. You might feel a sense of relief

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<v Speaker 1>that surprises you because your body has been waiting for

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<v Speaker 1>you to slow down, and it's grateful for the invitation.

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<v Speaker 1>In hel two three, four five exhial two three four

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<v Speaker 1>five six seven. Again inhale two three four five exhal

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<v Speaker 1>two three four five six seven One more inhale two

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<v Speaker 1>three four five exhale two three four five six seven.

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<v Speaker 1>Notice how different that feels. Not better or worse, just different.

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<v Speaker 1>Your nervous system has shifted, the frantic energy of the

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<v Speaker 1>day has softened. You've given your body permission to slow down,

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<v Speaker 1>and in that permission there's a quiet strength. Let's go

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<v Speaker 1>deeper now. I want you to bring your awareness to

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<v Speaker 1>the spaces between your brecks. Don't try to control them,

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<v Speaker 1>just notice them. There's a tiny pause at the top

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<v Speaker 1>of each inhale before the exhale begins, and there's a

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<v Speaker 1>tiny pause at the bottom of each exhale before the

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<v Speaker 1>inhale returns. These pauses are almost invisible when we're moving fast,

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<v Speaker 1>but when you slow down you start to feel them.

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<v Speaker 1>They're like small pockets of silence between words. They're like

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<v Speaker 1>the rests between notes in a piece of music, and

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<v Speaker 1>they hold a kind of piece that's always been there

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for you to find it. Now, I want you

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<v Speaker 1>to bring your attention to something slow, something in your

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<v Speaker 1>body that's always been moving slowly, without you ever noticing

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<v Speaker 1>your heartbeat. Feel it not raising, not performing, just beating

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<v Speaker 1>one beat, then the next, then the next. It doesn't rush,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't try to be faster. It simply does what

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<v Speaker 1>it was made to do at its own pace, and

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<v Speaker 1>that pace is exactly right for you. Your heart doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>need a productivity app. It doesn't need a deadline. It

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<v Speaker 1>just needs to keep beating, and it does slowly, steadily, faithfully.

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<v Speaker 1>What if you could live the way your heart beats.

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<v Speaker 1>What if you could trust that your own pace, the

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<v Speaker 1>one that feels natural, the one that doesn't require constant acceleration,

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<v Speaker 1>is enough. What if the speed you've been running at

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<v Speaker 1>isn't the speed of life, but the speed of fear.

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<v Speaker 1>Think about the things that matter most to you. Your relationships,

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<v Speaker 1>your health, your peace of mind, your creativity. None of

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<v Speaker 1>these things improve with speed. Relationship,