Deedle Deedle Dees create smart, talented and deep music for kids...

A childhood friend of mine was recently featured on NPR.

He is a part of a band in NY that is creating smart, talented and deep music for kids...

What a great idea!

As a parent and music lover I can tell you the mindless, chirpy, sing-along stuff they usually call kids music gets REALLY old REALLY fast. It is about time that someone started realizing that kids appreciate talent just like the rest of us.

Way to go Deedle Deedle Dees, you have raised the bar for what kid's music should be!

Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast: Remembering the Tortoise in 2012

So often, the 'Truths' we hold so dear are actually 'truths,' with a lower case 't.'

We often fixate upon our 'reality' at the expense of the bigger picture. We try so hard to push forward that we forget that sometimes paths are not meant to be straight and we would do better to weave around obstacles rather than try to plow through them.

Just like the pretentious jackrabbit in the fable, we hurry and hurry, and in our haste we lose ourselves and our purpose.

This seems to be what is happening with how people use technology as of late. Social networking especially is being used like it is supposed to help us become multi-tasking gurus with lightening fast communication skills. While in reality, ‘quickness’ is not necessarily the most important thing when it comes to communication, or many things in life for that matter.

I learned a long time ago (and often forget) that sometimes the quickest way to get somewhere is actually to slow down and enjoy the journey. Like that tortoise who beat the arrogant hare, winning is not about speed at all. It is about taking the right steps at the right time and continuing on the right path. In the words of Confucius:

“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go-so long as you do not stop.”

In this New Year, I suggest we slow down and enjoy our existence a bit more. I suggest we take things like Tumblr, Tweeter, texting and Facebook and use them for what they are supposed to be—tools to help us live life more fully, NOT necessarily more quickly or efficiently.

If we slow down a bit, we may find that these tools can be used in new and interesting ways which promote community, freedom and systems thinking in ways we have not considered. We may smooth out what is right now a disjointed, jagged and over-whelming ‘Information Age’.

In the process, we may find that slow is smooth and smooth is fast and the best use of our time may in fact be simply making the most of the time we have.