TIME TO STEEP       
If your thoughts happen to turn to tea while you're doing very little, consider what a wonderful drink it is: zero calories, more than 3,000 varieties and an almost endless range of flavours. No wonder Germans alone drink 47 billion cups a year. Even making a cup of tea is a small ritual in slowing down. There's no need to devote several hours to Chadō, the Japanese tea ceremony built around harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity. Simply boiling the water (and getting the temperature just right), warming the teapot, pouring the water and waiting for the tea to steep can be a little exercise in Zen. Green tea, and especially matcha, also contains L-theanine, an amino acid known for its calming effect on the nervous system. And if you prefer black tea, try adding a spoonful of cream in the East Frisian tradition. You'll be rewarded with Wulkjes, little clouds of cream that form beautiful patterns in your porcelain cup, changing shape with every sip.

MOMENTS THAT LAST FOREVER
When it comes to taking life at their own pace, pets are hard to beat. The neighbour's cat, for example, can spend hours following a patch of sunlight across the living room, basking in it like a feline Louis XIV. A visiting dog may politely acknowledge its breed description as an “enduring Italian running hound”, only to spend its walk ambling from one pile of leaves to the next blade of grass and then on to a fence post, making the very idea of speed seem rather absurd. Time? Completely irrelevant. Animals live in the here and now, happily sleeping for up to 16 hours a day and only showing any real urgency when food or enemies are involved. The rest of the time? Pure enjoyment and endless patience. Perhaps they've been reading Goethe? After all, he knew a thing or two about it: “Peace of mind is a wonderful thing, as is the joy of being oneself.”