“I believed that I wanted to be a poet, but deep down I just wanted to be a poem” – Jaime Gil de Bieda

"We think constant connection will make us feel less lonely. The opposite is true. If we are unable to be alone, we are far more likely to be lonely. If we don’t teach our children to be alone, they will know only how to be lonely."

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the-flight-from-conversation.html

 

I found this article on Facebook - go figure? - from someone I only know peripherally, so perhaps that is indirectly proving the point of the article, but I thought it was interesting enough to share. I wanted to make more than just a one-sentence comment, which is why I put it here instead of resharing it on Facebook. The author makes a lot of points that aren't particularly new. A lot of them I agree with, as do many of the people I've talked to about this same issue, but it is worth commenting on again.

Being alone definitely is something that is difficult for many people to do, especially among my peers, some of whom are way more connected than I will ever be or wish to be. While I have no problem living without a smartphone - or even giving up my phone, laptop, and internet connection entirely for a few days to a week to go camping/on a retreat - or constantly being on a chat client on my computer, the thought of it to some people is alien or even horrifying. Of course, I recognize that it is entirely voluntary to be either way, and some people are like that because of the nature of their work, but then I wonder how much of the reason to stay connected 24/7 is really work and how much is really voluntary. (That made much better sense in my head, but there it is.)

I've seen how it's affected interactions with some of my friends who are constantly checking their phones when I'm with them or when in a group setting. It makes me feel a little less valued, especially if I'm talking to them, but I notice that some of them also have horrible attention spans. Perhaps they were born that way, and technology exacerbates that tendency, but it's rather amusing and also kind of annoying. The other thing I do notice, especially in one certain group of friends, is that conversation doesn't really happen unless we're eating and can't play games or look stuff up on the phone/tablet. It's kind of weird. Maybe I don't know that many good conversationalists after all? Or maybe the dependence has atrophied some people's ability to converse when it wasn't that strong to begin with?

Don't get me wrong; I love technology. I'm just not that dependent on it.
(However, being without a laptop at night for the last couple of days, because of an ill-timed hard drive failure and virus combo, made me rethink how much I do use it, especially when I can't sleep and don't want to do anything except surf the interwebs.)

Tomorrow, I will...

- practice the guitar

- practice the piano

- go to the gym!

- watch movies

- catch up on TV

- cook casserole

- write poetry

- post poetry (?)

- work on my draft post

- look more at accounting scholarships

- journal

All of the above, plus go to the scooter store and ask questions. Later, there'll be fun times with friends!
This week has been hell, but I'm looking forward to a fully creative, fun, relaxing weekend.

Most days start out as a "10," with one point being deducted for every significant negative thing that happens throughout the day, but they are only counted if there is no resolution to the problem. (Waking up on the "wrong side of the bed" automatically makes it about a "6" day right at the start.)

Example: Forgetting to turn in a hard copy of a graded assignment on the due date but having it accepted via email by the professor doesn't count; you've been saved by technology and someone's leniency.

Many of my friends often say that they hate being asked about their day, but I appreciate it. Even if the question is somewhat perfunctory at times, there is at least some interest shown in my wellbeing, or so I'd like to think. Working from that assumption, then, I always try to respond with the truth. Several genuine conversations have spawned because I actually took the time to give a sincere answer instead of the usual, "Oh, I'm doing well; thanks!" (That answer is often a lie or a half-truth at best, but I've used it, of course, whether it was the truth or not, when I'm in a hurry and can't talk to someone. I do end up feeling a little guilty about it afterward, though.)

That being said, today would be a 7 out of 10. Overall, it was a great day, as my parents are in town for the weekend. I was with them for the majority of the day - going to a museum, running errands, cleaning my apartment, planning for graduation, and eating a home-cooked meal together. There were some noticeable "downs" today, though, which is why I deducted 3 points. (It's really odd that I cry so easily when I feel like I've failed at something than when I'm feeling moved by art or music or whatever.)

I have a feeling tomorrow might be at least an 8. Maybe a 9.

Should a man see only popularity, he becomes a mirror, reflecting whatever needs to be reflected to gain acceptance. He is everyone and no one.

Should a man see only power, he becomes a wolf — prowling, hunting and stalking the elusive game. Recognition is his prey and people are his prizes. His quest is endless. As a result, he who sees only power is degraded to an animal, an insatiable scavenger, controlled not by a will from within, but by luring from without.

Should a man see only pleasure, he becomes a carnival thrill-seeker, alive only in bright lights, wild rides, and titillating entertainment. With lustful fever he races from ride to ride, satisfying his insatiable passion for sensations only long enough to look for another.

Seeker of popularity, power, and pleasure. The end result is the same: painful unfulfillment.

Only in seeking his Maker does a man truly become man. For in seeing his Creator man catches a glimpse of what he was intended to be. He who would see his God would then see the reason for death and the purpose of time. Destiny? Tomorrow? Truth? All are questions within the reach of the man who knows his source.

-Max Lucado

taken from the blog of Adam Young (Owl City)
Something to think about for today.