Are We Savoring Life?
“Thank you for posting this (I have removed the person’s name to whom this was posted) gbu always
I read the above comment, in response to the person’s post, at whom the comment was directed and paused for a moment, to figure out what gbu meant. The only reason I deciphered gbu was because of the contents of the original facebook post: gbu means God bless you.
My texting skills are abominable, and without my sister, Caroline, having shown me how to use the microphone, on the smart phone, I would only be texting okay, yes, and no – God bless my sister, as well as the inventor of the microphone.
I have a friend, with whom I exchange 3-5 page letters, single spaced, who I believe uses his phone, to at the very least, read our letters, if not also write them, something I find phenomenal. I understand the “need” for shorthand in texting. Humanity has always devised ways to be more efficient and to complete the task, at hand, in what they perceive as quicker fashion – @, a symbol for at – I do have to wonder if this symbol saves that much more time? My Mother taught me w/ meant with, which cuts the effort to write the word with in half, two strokes less, with etc. for etcetera, also cut in half, ok for okay, or the ubiquitous lol – laughing out loud, which is widely accepted by everyone, except the Microsoft spell check, which insist it is not a word; but do we really need to turn God bless you, to gbu? Everything else in the post was spelled out, except what in my opinion, would have to be the most important part of the message, God bless you. Did the person posting this message really not have the time to write out those three words?
As a society, we seem to continue to find ways to do/make/live faster; but is faster always better? I wonder if we are losing the quality of life, in our insistence that everything be sped up. Is fast food better just because it is quicker? Would you prefer an instant text message saying “luv ya” than a hand written love letter, which arrives by post, three days later with the words: I love you, spelled out in all of their glory? Or how about that medical care, via technology, where you do not even have to go see an actual live person, to have your ills diagnosed and treated?
I love the ability to instantly acquire knowledge, but I wonder if I retain the information, at the same level of certainty, as if I went to the library, read the book, and made actual notes, on the topic of curiosity?
I cannot help but feel as if we are missing out on the shared cups of coffee, pot luck dinners, and planned weekends away, by simply hitting like, LOL, and ha ha ha. Is sharing a picture of our Christmas tree, on social media, the same as hosting a Christmas Open House or Tree Trimming Party? It is certainly easier to take a few pictures and post them, than to clean the house, shop and prepare food and then clean-up after the festivities, but is it really as much fun? I do not think so.
I know I sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but writing Happy Birthday on an electronic device does not have the same feel as a real birthday card, which the receiver may very well treasure, or think of it as added clutter, which means nothing to them. What is the trade-off? Are we savoring life, or swallowing it whole?
Lately, though my world feels like it has come to a stand-still, I do not feel like I am savoring life. I want to stroll along the beach, I want to share an excellent meal, and I want to stop and smell the proverbial flowers, and not simply live checking off an endless to-do list.
The average person spends 90 seconds on a website; you cannot read this post in 90 seconds, unless of course you have graduated from a speed reading course. I do not know how often I find myself discussing a headline, instead of the actual story, or debating whether or not I have the time to speak to a friend, who is calling, to say hi? How long should it take to say hi, how are you? With more time savers in our life, how did we end up with less time? What are we spending our time on, and why?
Since starting to write these pages, I find that wherever I go, I feel compelled to take pictures, to share with you, which is a good thing. However, I sometimes find myself feeling relieved, when I see a sign, which says no photographs allowed – I can put the camera away and simply enjoy being present, in the moment. The trick of course is a happy medium, I want to take a few shots to share with you, as well as one or two for myself, marking that I went to whatever site it is that I find myself at; but I need to also realize that this moment should matter, in the present, and not in the future when I post a photo in A View From the Road, or Public Square. How do we find the balance? I do not know.
Yesterday, as the first of February was upon us, and I had not written this column, which I try to publish, on the first of the month, I decided that one of the advantages of being the sole proprietor, of my endeavor, was that instead of staying home and writing, I would go visit my sister, whose house I only left, after a very nice, long visit, because I knew today’s snow storm was about to begin its imprisoning fall. Thus, at the moment, I am snowed in, once again, feeling ever so trapped by the snowbanks and the official urgings that we stay off the streets, to allow the snow-clearing crews to do their work. However, if a snow day is good for anything, it is good for writing!
Does it truly matter if I am a day late with this post? I do not think so. I am going to bundle up, a process I dislike, and go outside and take a few pictures around the house, for those of you who are not friends on facebook, and thus have not seen the photos of our previous blizzards and exaggerated snow falls this season. I am going to try to find the beauty in my snow covered world, and take time to savor the glory of the moment – I want to. That Is All For Now.
