Kristen Rizzo, daughter of Canadian artist Dave Rizzo, enjoys a slow start to the 2010 Ann Arbor State Street Art Fair.

Dennis Sparks | Contributor

I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus and Thucydides, for Newton and Euclid; and I find myself much the happier. —Thomas Jefferson

Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly. —Mae West

Most of us would be happier, I believe, if we did fewer things more slowly. We would read more slowly, savoring the meaning and implications for our lives of a small number of well-chosen texts. We would engage in slower-paced conversations, speaking fewer words as we listened more carefully. We would reduce the fullness of our schedules and the pace of our days, noticing and savoring the gifts that only an awareness of the present moment can provide.

Fortunately, slowness is not an all or nothing way of life. We can experience it by spending half an hour with a book whose depth challenges us rather than perusing blogs; by pausing for a moment or two to enjoy a piece of music; by walking a bit slower to notice our surroundings; or by saying “no” to an invitation whose acceptance would increase the tempo of our day.

Slowness in these ways and others, including those that Mae West might have suggested, would leave us, like Jefferson, “much the happier.”

Dennis Sparks’ “Things Observed” essays and photos encourage readers to see familiar things in new ways. He can be contacted at dennis.sparks@comcast.net.