More time allows us to pay greater attention to the other things in life that we find meaningful. Perhaps the thing that struck me the most in Paris was the realization that I had never, in all my travels, seen children so happy and attentively cared for. Now, mind you, only the wealthy can afford to live in Paris so most likely those children were of financially well-to-do homes, which certainly has something to do with it, but the fact was that they seemed less spoiled and simply happier than children I've seen elsewhere. Most remarkable was the amount of creative attention parents paid to children and the fact that they weren't rushing them down the street between errands as American parents often do. Time - that's luxury.

But its not easy to communicate this sort of luxury to those of us who don't know how it feels. European films attempt to illustrate the magic and importance of these small connections in "a day in the life" formats, but rarely succeed because they just can't sustain our interest. The small luxuries of living simply seem difficult to craft a riveting plot line around. The grand narratives require the sort of immense tensions that makes for greatness and Americans are their masters. Americans make the world's best action movies in black and white - leaving behind any knowledge they might have of life's subtleties and connecting with us through the exaggerated contrasts that form its social mythology. Greatness sells, the little things don't - no matter how important they may be.

To be anti-work and anti-success in the united states is to be either lazy or a bohemian - the difference is that for the bohemian this involves a conscious recognition that something crucial is lost from a life so obsessed with work that it glosses over life's real treasures. And if you look at bohemian enclaves around the United States you will find many small groups dedicated to an observance of a different type of lifestyle - one that puts work on the backburner and focuses on making relationships with others and oneself more intimate and meaningful. But bohemian lifestyles are not the stuff that families and long-term goals are built around. They work only for a limited population and under a limited set of conditions. Real life responsibilities demand a greater emphasis on work than the bohemian is usually willing to acknowledge. Something in between workaholic America and bohemia's contempt for it seems to be the answer - so why is the European model not even on the radar in America? Is it truly socially and politically impossible for us to even talk about the possibility of moving towards such a system. Maybe so. Maybe it's too late and we're too set in our ways. Maybe we just need a little time for reflection. 300 hours might do it...