In praise of the slow people.

I am not particularly quick-witted. My responses are usually many seconds too late and I dwell on each sentence as if it's my doctoral thesis. Instead of walking, I stroll  leisurely like a retired grandma. Sometimes I try to mimic the pace of others and that unfortunately turns into my day's workout. I usually finish my meal when others have moved onto their afternoon recreations and a ten-page reading would easily scoop away a whole hour of mine. Yet I am happy with my slot.

Haruki Murakami points out that people work at different pace: there is the smart man who comes to see Mount Fuji and just by the glimpse of it, he has gotten all that he needs to know and moves on. The other man, who is much slower in wit, needs to climb the hills, taste the fruit, drink the water to finally grasp Mount Fuji. Yet the more he experiences the mountain, the less he could say that he gets it. Both kinds are necessary for humanity to function, just that novelists are the second man, they operate at a slower pace that requires more visceral processing.

To write one or two novels, sure, anyone can do that if they are determined. But to work in the solitude of one's writing space over decades, spinning with relentless effort a novel after another; This takes a special kind of stupidity.

Why, smart people simply say things as they are. They get things done in the literal sense. Yet novelists are prone to spend tenacious months spinning a metaphor, a story to wrap around a message that could be said in 3 minutes. They would, in the privacy of their work, comb a sentence to its molecules the whole day just to make it 2% better. No public recognition is given for that day of hard work, no one particularly cares, yet the novelist persists.

Most newcomers would drop out after writing 1 or 2 books. Those who are quick-witted and possess a lot of knowledge would steer away from such an unproductive occupation.

The brain circuit for productivity is goal-oriented. It is run by dopamine while the tasting-life circuit is run by what Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long call the Here & Now neurotransmitters, namely serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins, and endocannabinoids etc.

Like how Murakami describes that his writing is actually physical labor, the Here & Nows are released when we engage our senses (i.e. visceral processing). This then gives us feelings of satisfaction that allow us to enjoy the moment rather than going after more. Dopamine, on the other hand, is very mind- and future-oriented. It keeps us working harder and chasing bigger dreams. The whole business of Zen Buddhism and spirituality in summary is about shifting people from the dopaminergic circuit to the Here and Now circuit.

So for those who are naturally slow, we have less chance to become a victim of capitalistic greed. Not because we are smart, but because we are too slow to thrive in it anyway. We stay on Mount Fuji longer and therefore can enjoy a bit more of it in this short wake of human consciousness. But there's one caution and one hope that I have, that is those who are blessed with this stupidity would invest their stubbornness in something worthwhile and not wasting our little intelligence away to the dark path of humanity digression.

Enjoy and good luck. xoxo