We live in a fast paced world, where we are inundated with information 24/7. There is no off button any more, it seems, as we receive updates on social media and news on our smart phones without even asking for it. There are syndromes in which people believe they are receiving vibrations from their phone when it isn't ringing (gives a whole new meaning to Good Vibrations, but I don't think that is what the Beach Boys were going on about,) and carpal tunnel from texting too much. It is all too much.
Where is the peace and quiet? Where is the moment of aloneness to reflect and understand ourselves and our thoughts. Where is the time to simply exist, floating in the never land of nothingness where creativity breeds it's best work?
I know a lot of people disagree, but I think it is possible to be too connected, too in touch. I think you have to disengage from the world in order to fully engage with your inner self. It may be my INTJ personality, but I am at my best when I have had time to feed my inner self, refresh my spirit, uplift myself. I cannot do that as a group project.
The world is full of extroverts, but even the most outgoing person must have some time to simply be. Imagine then, the discomfort of the introvert in this fast paced madness we call modern living.
I find the constant barrage of media, in particular, to be overwhelming. It is impossible to accurately filter what is important when there is so much information coming in all the time. So now I simply disregard it all. I'm happier that way. Less informed, I suppose, but happier.
I am dreading the upcoming election. The voices are growing increasingly strident, the criticisms ever more shrill. It is a cacophony of nonsense, a contest to see who can shout the loudest. But what have we learned? What do we know about each candidate as a person? Do we know their inner thoughts? Do we really understand their goals, and what drives them? Will we have confidence that, once elected, any one of them will do what they say they will do? Or will it simply be business as usual, same office, different suit?
The excess is not limited to politics. The death of David Bowie, a talented entertainer, has been an over the top obsess fest. I suspect, if you know anything about Bowie at all, that he would have been a little surprised, and possibly disconcerted, at the endless tributes and attention from the main stream media, in particular. After all, he made his fortune by being on the fringe, outside the crowd, doing the unusual and the unexpected. I was not a fan of either his music or his excessive lifestyle, but at least he was genuine. I wonder how many of the tweets and posts were generated by life long fans, and how many were put up by those who were looking for a way to be relevant in the media frenzy?
In this brave new world of 2016, we no longer need to fear the Big Brother government, because they are only nominally in charge. It is the media that drives the conversation today, and I find that worrisome. The media is not, after all, a disinterested bystander, simply reporting the facts and allowing us to come to our own conclusions. Instead, today's 24/7 sources are driven by a click bait agenda, and every story is presented in the way that is most likely to generate advertising revenue. Hardly the best way to get at the truth, is it?
Who has really chosen the so called top tier candidates? What agenda was being fulfilled in giving Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton so much free air time while marginal candidates with lesser known names chafed in the trenches trying to make themselves heard? How many good ideas have been overlooked while the shouting occupied our time and attention?
When my children were young, families around us tended to be very scheduled. I watched frenzied mothers and fathers trying to be three places at once, so their children wouldn't ever miss an opportunity.
I couldn't live that way. I was comfortable with my own children missing out on some activities that may have been fun for them, in an effort to give them time to invest in themselves and their own creative pursuits. I don't know whether they gained or lost, but in the final analysis, I know we were a lot calmer and more even tempered because we had time to do what people have done since time began - visiting with neighbors, playing in the yard, relaxing and enjoying nature and each other's company. I think that balanced out the opportunities lost.
In January, I like to retreat into my warm, cozy house, shutting out not just the cold, but the world. I enjoy the time to read and relax and reflect on the year that has passed, and consider what lies ahead. I recharge my life batteries in the glow of the fireplace. I take out the ashes of the past and replace them with fresh wood that will burn brightly and cleanly through the new year.
Over the last week, I have been nursing a slightly injured knee. I will start to feel better, then I over do until it is swollen and painful again. Today I have finally taken some time and done what I needed to do so that it can repair itself. While sitting here, I have been wondering why it is so difficult to do that, to simply sit down and put my leg up, to take some time for healing and rest. What is it that causes us to think that in silence or inaction we are somehow less valuable?
I watch my dogs, and notice they don't have such worries. They lie down, they sleep, they are never concerned about justifying their existence or what will happen next. They know that life will sort itself out because it always does, and this moment is enough for now. I think they have the right attitude.
I have noticed a trend of people yearning for a past in which life was simpler. I don't think people really want to give up their cell phones and dishwashers and go back to a time when racism was rampant and women were considered to be at their best when in the kitchen and not the office. I think what we all long for is a time in which life was a little more clear, we had more time to enjoy the little things, and gathering at the dinner table to talk was an achievable goal.
It is possible to disconnect. A cell phone is still not part of a place setting. Work is still work and home is still where the heart resides. In the circus that is life, you still determine whether you have monkeys, and if they will fly.
As for me, I will be in the kitchen, creating comfort food to sustain me through the brutal cold that is outside my cozy walls. I may or may not answer my cell phone. They say time is of the essence, but for me, today, it is for peaceful repose.
I will be back when my spirit is refreshed.
