Tuesday, October 26, 2010

disconnect

there are so many parts of technology that i adore.  and some others that i abhor.   and still others that i find perplexing, for example- is this computer a time saver or a brain drain?

i don't know.  it gives and it takes away.  sometimes i feel like it takes too much though.

life is stagnant inside this screen and there's that comfort here, but it pulls me away from the kaleidoscope of real life here under my nose.  my boys growing up, the corn withering in the our garden, the geese flying by, the wrinkles deepening around my eyes.

at the same time, it feeds the part of me that fears too much isolation.  the keyboard keeps up with my rapid thoughts in a way my journal and pen cannot.  i can satisfy my curiosity of strange facts in mere seconds.  i can pay bills late without feeling the gal on the is condescending to me. 

over the years- especially as the boys get bigger- i have often imagined a life without internet and welcomed it.  i miss being bored, i think.  because out of boredom comes creativity and spontaneity.  i used to listen to more music, do more stretching, draw, sew.  ok, honestly, i probably don't do much of that because of my children and their natural desire to do whatever it is that i am doing.  yoga with a 2 year old clawing up on your back is not so peaceful.

the internet is the easy escape.  the simple solution.  the quick fix.  but it's not always so good for my family.  for me?  if i lived alone?  sure, my eyes could grow square and my fingers become even more adept at typing and correcting typos.  but for a group of people that should be connecting to each other- i'm not sure the internet does us any favors.

it's like eating a candy bar instead of a meal.  over the long haul it's bound to screw up things a bit.

of course, sometimes a candy bar is a really great thing.  like this blog for example.  i've always wanted to write and to be read.  maybe it's ego, maybe it's just human nature.  we crave witnesses- one reason why facebook is so damn popular.  we want others to see us in the hopes that they will understand us a bit more.  and through that they may understand themselves a bit more too.  for me, having an easy place to publish my random thoughts has been incredibly motivating and satisfying....like a snickers.


in any case, the time has come for my family to snip the cord of the internet.  there's still free wi-fi all over the place here.  and i can write and them go somewhere else to publish my blog or email my articles to the co-op.  i know it will be one more step.  who knows?  maybe we'll be plugged back in before thanksgiving.

thanks for you support and encouragement with my writing.  i'll keep at it.

1 comment:

  1. i feel like the witnessing works both ways, benefiting the writer and the audience as well. it has been really great to get to know you better through your writing, to see things through the eyes of nancylee. you are really talented and i look forward to reading more, in whatever fashion it comes to me.

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