Watching, and Being

IN 1980, when the Cassini space probe flew past Saturn and sent back pictures, a friend and I sat in front of a grainy, boxy TV, staring......at....Saturn, for hours. Nothing ever happened, on the planet or in my house. Just Saturn, hanging out. I don't remember how many joints we smoked. Enough, probably, to be very content with the entertainment, just the two of us, and Saturn. She was beautiful, both my friend, and the planet. Nothing needed to happen for us to be quite content. There sat Saturn, changeless. Nothing slammed into it.I vaguely recall a human voice providing occasional commentary. My parents told me that when they got their first television set in the mid nineteen fifties, they watched it, even when no programs were on. The test pattern, and the snowy static were quite enough. Entertainment, it seems, is a state of mind, and a relative one. The venerable tradition of slow motion TV continues unabated and unmoving today in Norway, which has an entire channel devoted exclusively to it. Its surprisingly popular, as if the Norwegians are hungry for a breather. A camera, mounted to a freight train, shows scenery slowly changing for seven hours all across the country. At various times you can watch fish swim, for hours on end, or people quilting, or you can keep an eye on a bird's nest, where eagle's eggs await the next maternal visit. The bird's nest concept is also popular in the United States, and in Europe. for real fast paced action, you can watch a quilting circle making progress. Gripping. The message is; slow down, live in the moment, and appreciate doing it. the world will be in a hurry again soon enough. Studies clearly reveal the benefits of going slow, far beyond the usual reduction of mistakes and reduction of blood pressure. among the slow moving there manifests a state of mind conducive to enhanced imagination, and thus, higher creativity. Its worth a try.