(Click on the song "Riddle" and get a feel for how it set the mood on this entry)
I know the phrase "Everything happens for a reason" is said a lot, but I am a true believer in this on good and bad occasions.
A little less than a month ago I packed up everybody and we headed south to visit family. I would have loved to leave the laptop at home but the reality was, I pay most of our bills through the darned thing so it was a must have on this trip as bills would be due during our 2-week long visit.
I packed it along with pure intentions on only using it for the bills but then my mind went into blog, email and instant search withdraw. I knew the laptop was easily accessible so it was hard to resist. I was up early one morning before anyone else so I decided I would take advantage of that quiet time and get online.
Well, the darn laptop wouldn't start-up. Time after time, I opened it and closed it and pressed the power button. As the minutes passed I began to feel the frustration deep inside me grow stronger. Finally, I closed the laptop lid, set the laptop aside and I selfishly prayed to God and asked him to make it work. After all, all I wanted to do was get on my blog, check out the latest on other blogs, check email, search for who sang that song my mother-in-law & I heard on the radio the day before, and who knows where else that would have lead me in the internet world.
Luckily, I had packed my latest Writer's Digest Magazine. So I began to read an article and halfway through reading I reached over and punched the power button on the laptop .
Ah, the sweet sound of a computer powering up. Fans blowing, screen flashing words and shapes and making forward progress towards endless possibilities.
The funny thing was, once it started I was so involved in the magazine that I no longer cared to get online. I was more interested in finishing the magazine. I think my eyes and brain enjoyed looking at the magazine more than looking at the laptop, too.
Once we got home, this incident occurred 2 more times. Each time I calmly set the laptop aside and began reading something that I have been putting off for too long. And, each time I reached over to start the laptop it booted right up. This freak occurrence put something into perspective for me.
I decided that it's time for me to get back to basics - for the most part.
I began to think about all of those things that the convenience of technology provides for us. Although technology is great progress, sometimes I feel that the convenience of technology can numb raw knowledge.
Here are a few instances where I believe technology has numbed our minds:
- Spelling: The little red line that flows under a misspelled word when typing and all we have to do is right-click on it and allow the computer to spell it for us. Solution: Attempt to correct it on your own before right-clicking.
- Research: Several words come to mind: Google, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Dogpile and any of the other hundreds of search engines. Solution: Take the long road and support your local library. Look in a library and physically hold research in your hands.
- Lost time: Did you ever mean to just get online "real quick?" Yeah, me too and before I know it 2 hours have gone by and all I have done is nothing. I missed out on a sunrise or a sunset or playing with my 2-year-old or having a decent conversation with my husband. Solution: Set a time limit. Look at that little clock in the bottom right-hand corner of your computer screen and call it quits no matter what.
Something else that is said too much but that I believe strongly in, "Life's too short."