What does it mean to be a Sloth? Ask anyone this question and you may get a blank stare. Surprisingly few people are familiar with the graceful tree-dwelling creature in South America, and even fewer associate the word sloth as nothing more than lazy, unproductive, useless, not with it or not an active part of the working machine otherwise known as society at large.

If we consider ourselves to be Sloths, then how do we send the message out there that we do not live in trees (unless you happen to be trying to save the northern redwoods from the chainsaw) and that we are indeed anything but inactive! In fact, we are, quite naturally, busy folk like most every other member of our society at large, stressed-out, impatient, feverishly rushing about at breakneck speeds to sustain our livelihoods.

So, how then can we call ourselves Sloths and yet be caught in this high-tension mind trap? Can we convince people who are unfamiliar with us Sloths that slow Is Beautiful if we ourselves are not living up to the ideal? As difficult as it may seem at first, the answer to this quandary is really quite simple. All you need to do is think Sloth. If you think it, it will happen. If you want it to happen, people will take notice. If people take notice, they will want to know more about what Sloth means and what us Slothenly people are up to!

This brings us to the question of what, in fact, are we up to? Quite simply, we are trying to slow the pace of destruction of our living world. Nothing more, nothing less. The slower we become in our daily lives, the longer each and every one us can live and enjoy what is left of our green and blue planet! Let us know what you think by dropping us an e-mail at Sloth_Folk@yahoo.com.

RichardMcNamara
AndrewShaffer
KyushuLutheranCollege