Just Wondering

Just wondering,

Does anyone listen to the sound of the wind through the trees? Do you listen for the call of Nature? The voices in the woods, the subtle sounds of leaves rustling at the passage of some small animal scurrying by on some mission of survival. Does anyone listen to the sound of the rain as it taps softly on the window and patters down through those leaves, soothing a parched earth. Does anyone lie in the grass and stare up at the puffy white clouds determining what latest species they have become. Does anyone take time to savor the air under a tall pine, cooling in its shade from the hot afternoon sun?

Life has become such a furious thing, a demanding thing with so many man made forces pulling at us, calling to us, that we cannot and do not slow down to take in life as it should be. It seems to me that technological advances were supposed to make our lives easier, more pleasurable, but with the introduction of smart technology and social networking, it would seem things have become more chaotic and more distracting. Unless I just don’t get the meaning of life.

What would be the harm if all that technology were disconnected? What would happen to all those children plugged in to their X-boxes and Facebook? If their phones would stop and they would have to communicate vocally, face to face, instead of texting. I think there would be bedlam for a period but I think the children for the most part would adapt. The adults on the other hand, I don’t think they could handle it, being forced to deal with their own children?! You mean no TV for a babysitter? God forbid! I am not even talking about the markets or businesses and what would happen to them, I mean just the everyday man, woman and child, remove the bells and bright lights and put them in the woods and what would happen? It is an interesting thought.

People are needy, in particular for things and concepts, it is the concept of having friends, the concept of being in touch through social media that we think makes us happy. If we have things and stuff that make noises at us we will be satisfied, take tv, does anyone really think that all that stuff on there is worthwhile? It is a noise, a distraction, a bell, a bright light, just another concept of happiness. The things that we own to “keep us in touch with the world” are just a distraction to keep our minds off what life is really like as we shuttle the kids from one activity to the other, ignoring each other as we pass, preoccupied by what’s on the smart phone.

We are moving at an incredible speed, hurtling into a future that looms dark and mysterious, frankly pretty scary. For all the good that comes from this new stuff we have, there is something to be said about taking some time to reflect upon not just the gains, but the losses as well. It is amazing how in my lifetime the night sky has become a bright sky, dimming the stars to near obscurity due to the lights not only from the sprawl of Boston and its suburbs but from Worcester as well. No longer can you turn off all the lights in your home and gaze at the stars, seeing them sparkle through the inky blackness of space and time. No longer can you listen to the sounds of the night in all their mysterious glory, for the noise of the continuous traffic on the roads. I keep trying to convince myself that technology is a wonderful thing and it may well be, but at what cost? The de-socialization of society? Do we become bubble wrapped mummies, lost in our own I-clouds? Ignorant of life and the humanity around us, but plugged in to that all-important network.

Some advances are incredible such as those in healthcare and the extension of life with the potential for cures and procedures through nano-technology, I wonder though, is it worth extending just to send one more text?