Here we are
entering the HOLIDAY SEASON.
No, strike that –
it’s already here. I’ve gotten behind the times (not unusual) – the Holiday
Season used to start with Thanksgiving, but it looks like it now starts right
after Halloween, in the beginning of November. First Sunday night of the month,
I was out driving with my wife, trying to figure why there was so much traffic
on road. It looked like the CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS were already out in force.
Like I said, I
haven’t been keeping up; fact is, I don’t intend to.
The Holidays have
become a time to take advantage of the year end bargains as stores try to close
out their books in the black. I haven’t participated in BLACK FRIDAY, nor have
I ever tried out CYBER MONDAY. These events are an affliction to me – I have no
desire to be rushing from store to store (even if it’s online) looking for
stuff at a time when I want to sit back, relax and recharge, and reflect on the
year.
Technology has
changed our world. I remember when Thanksgiving was an all-day event, because
it took that long just to cook everything. The family would SPEND TIME TOGETHER
visiting and catching up. Even if you weren’t part of the kitchen crew, the
pace slowed.
There are still
people who opt for doing some real, time-intensive cooking, but now you can
pretty much settle for an abbreviated version where everything’s out of the
microwave in an hour.
With all that time
saved, you would think we could spend more time relaxing, but without the
enforcement of “you have to be in the kitchen first thing to prep the turkey
and then put it in the oven and watch it for hours to make sure it and the rest
of the fixings are ready,” we don’t tend to stay put. Instead, we look at the
time ahead of us and think of everything we can do in those three hours. Or
thirty minutes. Or thirty seconds.
Nowadays, there is
almost no measure of time that is so small that we might as well just relax,
because we can’t get anything done. Technology has removed the freedom that
existed in the gaps between our activities, and given us the shackle of
productivity.
I’m not talking
about work, although that’s been impacted too. I worry about the generations
who’ve been growing up with instant-on, always connected, who can’t stay in a
conversation for a minute without cutting out to answer a text (I wonder: how
much depth can your relationships develop in 140 character bursts? I know texts
can be longer that, but it’s generally a short, rapid-fire conversation.) With
all this enabled multitasking, can’t we just focus on one conversation anymore?
What have we
gained? Convenience. We can do so many things so quickly now, we’ve forgotten
how to wait.
What have we lost?
Relaxation - the ability to stop and do nothing. Or more importantly, to take
time with our thoughts, to get to know those around us, AND OURSELVES.
Technology should
be making our lives better – augmenting them, not taking away.
Just
saying…
<<<>>>
William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication
“Dead End Jobs”) can be found in many places, such as:
- His
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
- Barnes
& Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
- Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
- Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE
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