Forms of communication, ways to socialize and reach out to old friends and possibly new friends. This is the way it's done now. Life has taken the form of screens, apps, and visual shapes. Iphone, droid, ipad,ipod.
The way we move around on this place we call earth has dramatically changed many for the good I'm sure.
Apple loves for you to use the ipod and it's a great way to strore all of your music. Yes you can listen via your home stereo system or in the car. Yet so many of us, just plug them in our ears and go about our business tuning out the outside world, while were going for a walk. Working out at the gym or even working on your computer at the office and you also see people with them in their ears while they are driving.
Now don't get me wrong it's a great technology. But back in the day you or your parents would go for a walk and many still do, but they would walk so they could hear what was going on in the outside world.
As you are walking you see someone on the porch (well that is when people still sat on the front porch and it wasn't just a visual. Also that is when people didn't just go park in the garage and enter in the house they actually would go thru the front door. Well your walking down the street in your neighborhood or subdivision, or guess outside your comfort zone walking in other neigborhoods. Well in the small town you could cover the northside, southside and east and west within a good hours walk if you had your ipod working plugged in your ears and just walked and listened to music.
Now back in the day you would come across so many conversations as you passed people who were working in their yard. Playing outside with their kids or outside on the porch reading a book, or just watching the world come to them. They would see you and you would see them and conversation would come up. Politics, religion, family conversations, humor, the future and the past could come up on that walk of 2 miles. Now the average person that likes to go for a stroll probably walks over a mile.
Now think about all of those conversations. Hey how are you did you see what the president said on the news or did you see the what the neighborhood boy or girl did in the sporting event. How about the lemonade stand, on water street did you get a glass for 5 cents it was pretty good.
What did you think of the sermon at church or did you see the recent episode of ? I was laughing so hard or so moved. Or is it just idle conversation, where there is give and take about maybe something that may not come across as much value to someone listening but moved you personally in someway to create an emotional connection that nirvana, keith urban, dixie chicks, fleetwood mac, johnny cash, tom petty whoever didn't generate while you were plugged in cutting off society on that walk.
The human connection of a dialogue face to face really can never be replaced as you cannot see the dimples in the laughter or hear the sound of laughter nor the tone or expression of sadness and the visual of hand movement and facial expressions during the conversation.
The conversation that leads to many more, during the interaction with a friend maybe or someone that you have never met. For those of you that take an elevator at the job, go to lunch, ride the train or bus to get around, once in a while wouldn't it be nice to have a conversation with another human being to extend your reach socially. You don't even have to know their name they could be the elevator jean guy or the skirt and alot of make-up woman. It doesn't matter but you took the time to engage and not just have that uncomfortable moment that you avoided because you had your ipod in your ears, or you were guilty of looking at your phone for emails, or texts.
Guess what when your friend sends you a text or an email they cannot see you laughing or how that conversation played out visually with the person you are communicating with nor can they see you as well. This creates a disconnect, I know your communicating but you missed out on the total engagment.
To me this is something to think about I know we have all become so busy in our minds that many of us forgot what is was to just drop by or just pass by someone and engage them in a conversation. Have a coffee at the old cafe, or grab a coke at the old filling station. Many people wouldn't even know what I mean by the old filling station.
Even the soda machine could lead to conversations. The information gathered during these times could give you a good pulse of what many other people are thinking. The conversation could also give you an emotional lift after a bad day or make you realize life isn't so bad when you hear the stories of others who are facing obstacles in their lives.
Those of us that remember when also need to remember how to communicate and those of us that have children should remind our children of the other ways to communicate. Also I used to like to hear the sound of music that others played in their cars in fact for many of us we tried to get the big speakers so everyone would be forced to listen. Also seeing the kids play outside or the teenagers engaging in a basketball game listening to music or just the pure sound of interaction is always a joy.
I'm not telling you to throw away any of that new technology, just consider the value of an actual conversation using old and proven communication methods
The way we move around on this place we call earth has dramatically changed many for the good I'm sure.
Apple loves for you to use the ipod and it's a great way to strore all of your music. Yes you can listen via your home stereo system or in the car. Yet so many of us, just plug them in our ears and go about our business tuning out the outside world, while were going for a walk. Working out at the gym or even working on your computer at the office and you also see people with them in their ears while they are driving.
Now don't get me wrong it's a great technology. But back in the day you or your parents would go for a walk and many still do, but they would walk so they could hear what was going on in the outside world.
As you are walking you see someone on the porch (well that is when people still sat on the front porch and it wasn't just a visual. Also that is when people didn't just go park in the garage and enter in the house they actually would go thru the front door. Well your walking down the street in your neighborhood or subdivision, or guess outside your comfort zone walking in other neigborhoods. Well in the small town you could cover the northside, southside and east and west within a good hours walk if you had your ipod working plugged in your ears and just walked and listened to music.
Now back in the day you would come across so many conversations as you passed people who were working in their yard. Playing outside with their kids or outside on the porch reading a book, or just watching the world come to them. They would see you and you would see them and conversation would come up. Politics, religion, family conversations, humor, the future and the past could come up on that walk of 2 miles. Now the average person that likes to go for a stroll probably walks over a mile.
Now think about all of those conversations. Hey how are you did you see what the president said on the news or did you see the what the neighborhood boy or girl did in the sporting event. How about the lemonade stand, on water street did you get a glass for 5 cents it was pretty good.
What did you think of the sermon at church or did you see the recent episode of ? I was laughing so hard or so moved. Or is it just idle conversation, where there is give and take about maybe something that may not come across as much value to someone listening but moved you personally in someway to create an emotional connection that nirvana, keith urban, dixie chicks, fleetwood mac, johnny cash, tom petty whoever didn't generate while you were plugged in cutting off society on that walk.
The human connection of a dialogue face to face really can never be replaced as you cannot see the dimples in the laughter or hear the sound of laughter nor the tone or expression of sadness and the visual of hand movement and facial expressions during the conversation.
The conversation that leads to many more, during the interaction with a friend maybe or someone that you have never met. For those of you that take an elevator at the job, go to lunch, ride the train or bus to get around, once in a while wouldn't it be nice to have a conversation with another human being to extend your reach socially. You don't even have to know their name they could be the elevator jean guy or the skirt and alot of make-up woman. It doesn't matter but you took the time to engage and not just have that uncomfortable moment that you avoided because you had your ipod in your ears, or you were guilty of looking at your phone for emails, or texts.
Guess what when your friend sends you a text or an email they cannot see you laughing or how that conversation played out visually with the person you are communicating with nor can they see you as well. This creates a disconnect, I know your communicating but you missed out on the total engagment.
To me this is something to think about I know we have all become so busy in our minds that many of us forgot what is was to just drop by or just pass by someone and engage them in a conversation. Have a coffee at the old cafe, or grab a coke at the old filling station. Many people wouldn't even know what I mean by the old filling station.
Even the soda machine could lead to conversations. The information gathered during these times could give you a good pulse of what many other people are thinking. The conversation could also give you an emotional lift after a bad day or make you realize life isn't so bad when you hear the stories of others who are facing obstacles in their lives.
Those of us that remember when also need to remember how to communicate and those of us that have children should remind our children of the other ways to communicate. Also I used to like to hear the sound of music that others played in their cars in fact for many of us we tried to get the big speakers so everyone would be forced to listen. Also seeing the kids play outside or the teenagers engaging in a basketball game listening to music or just the pure sound of interaction is always a joy.
I'm not telling you to throw away any of that new technology, just consider the value of an actual conversation using old and proven communication methods
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