I very sincerely believe that all great decisions and opinions take some time.  Sure, there are moments when you know in a flash, or react spontaneously in some circumstance.  But I try to live my life in a way that I take time to consider things, look at things from different sides or perspectives, and take time to ruminate when possible before reaching an opinion or verdict.

Apparently this is a sure sign that I am a dinosaur.

I find it exhausting and disheartening that we live in an age when judgments and opinions are formed instantaneously.  Speed seems to be the most valued commodity, even over accuracy or courtesy.

Almost everything that happens in our world is now reported instantaneously.  This is true whether or not what is reported is actually true or verified.  Last week we were all convinced that Jon Bon Jovi was dead for at least an hour.

This instantaneous sharing of information is proving to have both positive and negative effects on our world.  Movie studios are dismayed that terrible movies no longer sucker in an audience all weekend before the word gets out how lousy the film actually is.  Young adults now regularly tweet and Facebook their opinions immediately (unfortunately, sometimes before the movie is even over).  This quick judgement on a film might have the consequence of a good film being shunned unfairly, but most often seems to be helping movie viewers avoid crass attempts at their money from a terrible product.  (Studios are scrambling to react to this new world of young people actually caring about the quality of their movie viewing!  Could better movies actually be an outcome??!!)

The thing that is exhausting about this in most circumstances, however, is that sometimes judgments are made on things which really should take more time to digest and consider.  Important issues often have nuance, many possible perspectives to consider, layers of complexity which need to be sifted through before arriving at a conclusion.  Of course, taking time to consider multiple perspectives is not in vogue in today’s 24 hour news channel world.  It seems that many people would rather have their favorite channel tell them what to think in a tidy sound bite and not have to worry their head with considering facts themselves.  (Viewer beware, facts are not always the friend of news channels either!)

I find judging at band contests to be exhausting because decisions and judgments have to be made quickly.  Sometimes when driving away from a judging job, I have wished I had put down numbers on the score sheet a little differently.  And sometimes shows which our activity judges poorly in the moment later are revered and held up as special once time has passed and we’ve all had time to process and consider.

So I encourage everyone to slow down, identify moments and issues when time must be taken for consideration, and allow yourself to TAKE that time in your life.  Listen to an entire Mahler Symphony in one sitting.  Read that 800 page book.  Watch that 4 part BBC mini-series.  And turn off your phone and have a nice long conversation with a good friend.

And when the moment arrives in your life when you need to really take your time and consider the facts, allow yourself that time.  Give yourself permission to savor life’s great moments, and to be deliberate on the difficult ones.  You deserve this.  And our world needs this desperately.