Even Speed Has Limits

Not too long ago I drove from Virginia to Texas (over 2,000 miles thank you very much) and must say enjoyed the view a great deal. The Mississippi River, downtown Oklahoma City and the hills of Tennessee were among the highlights of my trek. With all the political turmoil, episodes of violence and economic challenges that seem to dominate much of our country's headlines these days, we sometimes forget just how beautiful so much of the United States really is. Seeing part of it only reaffirms my desire to keep enjoying our country's landscape as often as possible. It tends to balance the weight of those negative headlines that tend to hit us over the head every day.


Driving, of course, meant I traveled at a fairly fast clip - certainly compared to those who took similar journeys throughout much of our nation's history. For them, traveling 20 or 30 miles in one day was quite an achievement. The fact we now have the capacity to go so much further in much shorter periods of time speaks volumes about how much we as a society have advanced. The intellectual and creative achievements of the men and women who came before us that enables people like me to drive from Virginia to Texas in approximately two days is quite impressive. Still, looking back on that drive, I am not totally convinced that faster is always better.


This applies particularly to communication. Sometimes, efforts to connect with others do not have to be driven by how quickly one does it. Any one of us, of course, can send an email to a friend and have them receive it in less than one minute. We can pick up the phone, call a loved one and be talking with them in a matter of seconds. Even "snail mail" allows us to connect with another in a matter of days. But speed has sits limits. Bonding with another person, for example, should not be treated as a 100-yard dash. It takes time to truly connect with another. At least it should.  In such a scenario, slow but steady does win the race.