Missing Beauty
It is indeed an incredible world in which we live. The advance of technology is breathtaking. More and more we spend our lives in front of a computer screen. An international study reports today’s adults are spending 53 per cent of their time online. The Henry Kaiser Foundation says that our kids spend 7 hours a day using electronic media. 75 per cent of kids, ages 12 to 17, have their own cell phones. Half of our young people send an average of 50 text messages a day.
How about reading? Polls show that Americans are spending only 20 minutes a day reading printed material. We’re on the Internet instead. Author William Green says even when on vacation millions of people itch to check email and surf the net. We yearn, it seems, to be electronically connected.
But, in our striving to be connected are we, in fact, disconnecting?
Disconnecting from the freshness of the morning sunrise, from the gentle touch of raindrops, from the song of birds, from the sound of thunder and the flash of the lighting bolt.
Do we no longer hear the laughter of children, do we no longer see the power of the wind rippling the grass of the meadow, do we no longer feel the touch of those we love? Are we being disconnected from… ourselves?
The reality of the internet and the computer and the smart phones are indeed a marvel of Our Times. But in the midst of this magic, it might be wise for us to realize that the real magic, the real phenomenon of Our Times and all times is the realization of the miracle of our recognition and respect… and… appreciation of each other.
As for me I appreciate the wind and the rain and the moon and the stars… and.. .you, Dear Reader.
– Virgil Dominic