Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Slow Living and an Icelandic Illusion

A scene from the hills of Northern Italy.
"There's something about the pace of life that makes it difficult to really slow down and assess where we're going and how we're doing on this journey called life."
~ Ed Young

The Ed Young quote above is how I opened my 2015 blog post about Slow Living. We think we can experience more by going faster, but the truth is quite the contrary. When we're moving fast we miss so much.

Here's another blog post on the same subject from a historian in Italy who introduced me to the concept of slow living. When we eat fast we fail to savor our food, and the friends whom we share meals with. Poetry is best appreciated in a slow, reflective frame of mind as we absorb the imagery language paints for us.

So, here's a story about a small town in Iceland that created a levitating crosswalk for the purpose of slowing down traffic. The trick of the eye induces a reaction because... well, you can see why here in this video.



The artist was Gautur Ívar Halldórsson, co-owner of a pavement marking company. You can read the full story here. I'm sure this has caused more than one driver to put on the brakes.

If you're out tonight, watch for trick-or-treaters. It's halloween. Drive slow, especially at dusk.

Meantime life goes on all around you. Stop and smell the roses.

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