Sunday, July 13, 2014

The One Where I Received The Message

So I've had that feeling lately. The one where I'm over connected and not connecting.  And I've seen two separate posts on Facebook about the aforementioned subject. 

The one that hit home the most was the craigslist ad by the NYC restaurant. 

http://news.distractify.com/culture/craigslist-surveillance-restaurant/?v=1

People (read: I) don't have common courtesy in this day and age. Taking pictures of food then complaining it's cold.  Bumping into one another, wasting the wait staffs time by taking photos. Not communicating, connecting with the person across the table, in the next chair, on the same couch.  Honestly what has the world come too? 

What has my world come to?  A group (or a few hundred) of friends I've never met.  Talking to people I have no real life connection with over the ones in the next room?  This shouldn't happen. This isn't how I grew up, made friends, kept friends for that matter. 

I feel like life has become like the esurance commercial with Beatrice. 


At the end of the commercial it says, 'Welcome to the modern world'. 

There are lots of things in the modern world I'm very happy about. 

Electricity. 
Running water. 
Indoor plumbing. 
Dishwashers. 
Washing machines. 
Computers. 
Telecommuting. 
Cell phones. 
Smart phones too. 

But I feel like I'm trapped in a Wall-E of my own doing. Unsatisfied with the ordinary life going on around me because of the life less ordinary on this inches deep and wide screen. 

And it's not about envying or comparisons as much as it is not cultivating what's in front of me.  I can't click a 'like' button or 'unfollow' those around me.  

That stuff had to be worked out, hashed out, forgiven, loved deeply and so widely that it falls into open arms of acceptance, open mouths, eyes so open and connected to others that they hear you...

Hear you with the kind of listening you do in the dark of night and there's an unfamiliar noise in your house.  A pit of the soul that only comes from being connected with your surroundings and with the people that make life ordinary.  Ordinary in a way that is wonderful.  

Where when we share a meal it's in person, not on Instagram. When we're at a ballgame it's for the ambiance, the company we keep, the peanuts & laughter. (cuz if you're a Rangers fan in 2014, you're not there for the great pitching & home runs). Where 'checking in' means being checked in.  

I think it's time we (read: I) were more checked in.  I don't think the world will miss another status update, or tweet or mealtime photos. 

And in the words of Ferris Bueller: 
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
I don't want to miss it. So I'm signing off. 
Not completely, not permanently. But in a way that is more checked in. 

Maybe we'll enjoy the ambiance of baseball in Texas!  


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