If we ask this question, "What did we do before the age of smart phones?" the most likely answer is a dulling of the eyes and an inability to remember life before the technological revolution. And the smart phone, for most people, is only a 25 year, a quarter of a century, old phenomenon.
I ride the subway and watch more than half the people sliding their thumbs up and down on a mobile device. The first computer was the size of a small apartment block. Today's smart phones are many times more powerful than the equipment used to get men to the moon and back. Technology has us wound around it's fingers! How easy it is to get addicted to our friends texting us, or the stock market, or the latest news from some company, country or institution.
Technological innovation constantly reduced the time between the necessary pauses in our lives. At first there was 2 G, and phones. Then came 3 G and 4 G which brought about endless innovation; you phone for a taxi, a pizza, or the cheapest hotel in the world for your holiday, always at the cheapest price. 5 G is going to transform all that beyond recognition. So will (someday) self driving cars and trucks.
The urgent pushes out the important. Overloaded circuits prevent quality sleep. Relationships called "friends" are simply a click on the "Like" button. We have thousands of friends through the internet but how many "real" friends? Why?
We need recuperative, constructive and mindful thinking. Our personal freedom depends upon taking control of our own mind, not having someone else providing us with constant excuses to wander away into their "mind space".
Gaining personal time is not "lost time". We need to ask questions such as, "What can I let go of in my schedule? In my cupboards? in my storage locker?" and "What deserves my attention?"
Our spiritual health depends upon our being able to have "quiet, reflective, listening, meditative" time. The outside world may desire to control our "success". But taking time to pause, to let our soul and spirit catch up to our present experiences; taking a day off once a week to let our relationship with the Lord grow and renew our relationship with parents, children, grandchildren and friends; taking the initiative to reflect on the goodness of the Lord: all these will mean we are taking time to pause, grow and put down roots that will reflect justice and righteousness, love and contentment.
I ride the subway and watch more than half the people sliding their thumbs up and down on a mobile device. The first computer was the size of a small apartment block. Today's smart phones are many times more powerful than the equipment used to get men to the moon and back. Technology has us wound around it's fingers! How easy it is to get addicted to our friends texting us, or the stock market, or the latest news from some company, country or institution.
Technological innovation constantly reduced the time between the necessary pauses in our lives. At first there was 2 G, and phones. Then came 3 G and 4 G which brought about endless innovation; you phone for a taxi, a pizza, or the cheapest hotel in the world for your holiday, always at the cheapest price. 5 G is going to transform all that beyond recognition. So will (someday) self driving cars and trucks.
The urgent pushes out the important. Overloaded circuits prevent quality sleep. Relationships called "friends" are simply a click on the "Like" button. We have thousands of friends through the internet but how many "real" friends? Why?
We need recuperative, constructive and mindful thinking. Our personal freedom depends upon taking control of our own mind, not having someone else providing us with constant excuses to wander away into their "mind space".
Gaining personal time is not "lost time". We need to ask questions such as, "What can I let go of in my schedule? In my cupboards? in my storage locker?" and "What deserves my attention?"
Our spiritual health depends upon our being able to have "quiet, reflective, listening, meditative" time. The outside world may desire to control our "success". But taking time to pause, to let our soul and spirit catch up to our present experiences; taking a day off once a week to let our relationship with the Lord grow and renew our relationship with parents, children, grandchildren and friends; taking the initiative to reflect on the goodness of the Lord: all these will mean we are taking time to pause, grow and put down roots that will reflect justice and righteousness, love and contentment.
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