Today, communicating personal safety via a safe vehicle came to my consciousness. How? By what vehicles?
Several factors motivate my desire to communicate personal safety. A lifelong history of seizures. Being single. A desire to leave "breadcrumbs" as to my general whereabouts--my general well-being.
Voicemail. Audible breadcrumbs are the humorous voicemail messages that I leave conveying my whereabouts.
Facebook? I have been very slow to understand how I want to use Facebook in my life. No technology is inherently evil, as is sometimes implied. That is a copout. It is the use of the technology, or application that determines the value of the application.
Facebook. I was introduced by a younger relative, someone in his 20s. I am 51. I was motivated to learn about Facebook as a means of communicating better with my relative. So, I observed on the sidelines. I was reticent to engage in the technological party line of the 21st century.
Voicemail. Facebook. Breadcrumbs. I have changed. My understanding of human interaction has changed dramatically since 2009. I was familiar with communicating in the workplace..with my family...with my friends...with my faith community...Zoomer.
My e-mail system was unavailable temporarily tonight. Twenty years ago that would have been inconceivable. Funny how just a few years can make some vehicle of communication indispensable. Loss of Internet access is worse yet. Funny. Yet, true.
Yes, in moderation, Facebook. I am aware of my generational distinction with my younger relatives in relation to Facebook.
In 2009 and 2010, the Internet, and e-mail became a critical connection to the outside world. Now, Zoomer has mitigated some of the isolation that made the Internet, and e-mail such a vital connection in my life. Now, as Zoomer and I explore our environs, and get to know one another, sharing that story electronically has expanded my understanding fundamentally.
How we live--how we feel about our lives--is a choice. Giving up on our lives is inexcusable. Feigning weakness is nothing more than an unwillingness to make a positive commitment to our lives. Facebook, and, I guess blogs are different ways to explore--to share--that commitment.
In the workplace, trying to navigate challenges, my default behavior was to exude optimism, in hopes of generating it in other people. I continue in that mode today. It is selfish. Optimism returned is a source of enormous strength.
I try to use voicemail, email, and Facebook for two purposes--communicate my own safety, and share
my convictions regarding optimism via my experiences with Zoomer. Truth be told, I don't know where Zoomer and I are headed. No, I have a street atlas. It is summer in Minnesota, or so they say. Winter in Minnesota lasts forever. Summer is a fleeting moment in time. Winter, snow, and ice will come. How far will Zoomer and I be able to travel? Regardless of weather, how far may Zoomer and I travel? Both questions--the fears regarding answers to those questions are in the back of my mind. Yet, I must focus on today--on today's adventures--to mitigate my fears. I must choose to commit myself to today's adventures. If I choose not to commit myself, then, I have no one to blame, but myself, for being unfulfilled.
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