Boy, I've been hearing that line for a long time. It is so true. I guess that's why it is still around and being said. Change is not something that is universally endorsed by all. Some people just like things the way they are and don't want to change. They would be considered dinosaurs and we all know what happened to the dinosaurs. So, what's the big deal? Why is it necessary to want change and at the same time want some things to not change?
Stability comes to mind for those that want little or no change. They have their little foundation built the way they want it and just want to continue living that way. Watch out for the flood waters. You've seen movies based on this premise. Obscure guy living his life with his same job for years. Obscure guy loses job for reasons beyond his control. Obscure guy loses it mentally and goes on killing rampage. Kind of a drastic take on reaction to change, but, real nonetheless. My sister does not have a debit card. She writes checks everywhere. She lives in a small town so she can get away with it. If I'm in line at a store and see a person paying with a check, I get irritated. How can this person still live in the dark ages. How can they slow down this line with their paper check? Did the new technology pass them by due them being locked in a closet at the moment of this change?
What has not changed in the last ten years? My children-change, my life-change, cell phone-change, job-change, television-change, President-change-Obama lovers happy with your change now?, city you live in-change, your attitude and beliefs-change, books-change, etc. Everything that we know continues to change. 100 years ago changes came at a much slower pace. It was a steady and slow kind of change. Now, hold on to your hat, you're in for a helluva roller coaster ride. The real catalyst for all this change-technology. It to me, has changed our lives drastically.
Last night I was out eating with my two sons and my significant other and they were sitting at the table playing games on their phones. They'd stop and text others and then go back to their little iPhones. Our conversation was limited based on trying to balance games, texts, emails, and real time conversations. This is not unique. They'd do it with their friends as well. They are one reach in their pocket from their phone. But, are they really staying in touch or building up a barrier between human interaction? Text is abbreviated language reduced to minimalist communicating. Tweeting is limited number of characters. Tweeting is mass communication to everyone but no one. You put your thought out there and some people pick it up and others don't even know what twitter is. Are we really getting better at communicating or just increasing the options?
I love technology. I absolutely love cell phones. I've had mine since 1996. Same phone number but quite a few different phones. So, a combination of not wanting change and embracing change? Video games amaze me know. I loved the Atari system and Pong when it first came out. I loved the 8 bit Nintendo system. Now it's PS 3, X Box, Wii and motion sensors to immerse you in the game even more. The graphics are so realistic. I wouldn't trade my HD tv for anything. The old cumbersome tube tv's of old were so old school. The Internet is so wild and crazy. What a wealth of info out in cyberspace. This Blog has benefitted by the Internet being here. And yet I'm communicating blindly. I have no face to look into as I write, just an iPad screen. So, I'm communicating as a broadcast. Yelling from the top of a mountain or tower to whoever hears me.
So are we better communicators or worse nowadays? We are better at processing vast amounts of info quickly but weaker at the interpersonal skills between two people. We just don't spend enough time one on one without artificial forms of communication getting in the way to make us lazy at really paying attention.
So, back to change and our lives. Is it good? There is no easy answer. I'm accustomed to it now and know there is no turning back. However, I yearn for the easier days when dinner at the table with all eyes on each other were the norm. Not, let me be entertained every second with sensory overload that satisfies my short attention span. The human touch can't be replaced or replicated by modern technology changes. Oh, but it'll try with some kind of virtual reality.
I know that five years from now I will be embracing openly or begrudgingly all the changes that rapidly will come. I just hope that my old school sense of family and friends doesn't change and yet I know it will. I just hope the changes are for the better.
Well, in this blog I changed directions quite often. I changed my mind and erased a number of thoughts. I love change even thought I often go kicking and screaming as it occurs. Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes- Jimmy Buffett- my paradise poet. Till we meet again. Can you spare some change?
Keith
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