The modern-day default is fast: We get fast next-day delivery from Amazon. News updates happen in near real-time, regardless of where on the planet the event is taking place. We can Facetime family in another state to instantly update them of a new development.

But the world of fast has downsides too. The always-connected, always-on way of life means that our pressures and responsibilities can quickly infiltrate every area of our lives. Messages from coworkers on Slack or email. Social media notifications that command far more attention and immediacy than they deserve. Feeling bored? Why suffer when you can open Reddit or Instagram and get an almost-endless stream of entertainment fast?

We have lost our tolerance for slow. If a video or gif takes too long to load, we skip and move on to the next one. We are more angry at a slow internet connection than a non-existent one. We lose the ability to use that which we do not practice. The tragedy of fast is that we no longer practice moving slowly, thinking slowly, or acting slowly.