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I write this a few days after Thanksgiving.

It can be fast paced when there is food to make and places to go.

Days before, people are barreling around the corners of the grocery store trying to get that last can of cranberries as if they are the only ones in the store when in reality there there are approximately 23 times the normal number of people there.

But this is emblematic of our lives today. Everyone is in a hurry, getting nowhere fast.

 Social media invites short attention spans by bombarding us with rapid (mis)information and stimuli. With X/Twitter you must express your thoughts in 280 chars. Thirty seconds is typical for the “Look at me, I’m an idiot” videos on Tik-tok. A yellow light at an intersection now means step on the accelerator. And if you are not speeding, you are simply holding up everyone else.

According to Northeastern university, over the past 20 years, the average attention span has dropped from around 2½ minutes to approximately 45 seconds.

This rushing around indicates a lack of concern or respect for others. Our time is more important than others’. Get out of my way! We need to find a way to consider others, slow down, breathe and smile.

David O. Williams, The Best Course of Action, Watercolor on paper, 20x16

[Pelicans and palm trees. Life can be so much slower. The signs are there. A call for a slower and more considered life. ]

Creating or viewing art is one way to slow down. There is evidence that seeing art in person is especially rewarding.

“...people had ten times more of an emotional response when looking at Vermeer’s famous 1665 painting “Girl with the Pearl Earring” than they did viewing a full-scale color poster of the work.  ...seeing the actual piece allows us to apprehend the premise and execution of the work, as if we ourselves are creating it.”

https://streamlinepublishing.com/inside-art/the-science-of-seeing-art-in-person

Your To “Do” list should include just Being – sitting, observing, listening. Read books instead of scrolling. Go to a museum, go for a walk.

What’s the rush? Is it really that important? Slowing down allows us to enjoy life more.

What are your thoughts?