The premise of Patty's Ponderings is to reflect on the fast-paced, deadline-driven world in which we live. My disclaimer? I am no longer in the work world. Sometimes, I feel guilty that I am not offering my nephews an example of a good work ethic. Yet, as my mom says, going swimming--strengthening my right arm, and preserving my right ankle as much as is possible--is my job. I do not mean that my swimming is drudgery, as the work world often seemed to me to be. My swimming is challenging. Yet, it is rewarding--very rewarding.
But, I digress.
This morning, I went to work. Zoomer and I left to swim at the YMCA. Fifteen minutes after leaving home, she and I arrived at the pool,. During those 15 minutes, I encountered two people engaged in my pet peeve--engrossment in their electronic devices. First, a man in his twenties stood at the end of a switchback--an accessible ramp--engrossed in a conversation with someone. Later in our travels, Zoomer and I met up with an attractive, blond woman dressed in a gray business suit, and a fuchsia blouse. The blond businesswoman's head was buried in some electronic device. Zoomer is my silent business partner. Thus, while the electric wheelchairs of some people make noise that alerts people to their presence, such is not the case for me. The businesswoman was so engrossed in her electronic encumbrances that she did not see me coming. I spoke up. We parted ways.
Such encounters lead me to wonder--to ponder. What is so important that we miss in our surroundings--people, beauty, and all that life offers? What do we miss because of the magnetism of electronic devices? Complaints are made that no one has time to relax anymore. I challenge the premise.
No one has time to relax anymore? No. That is wrong. They do--we all do. It is a choice.
I confess that I am addicted to my computer. I communicate with individuals living on other continents. But, as much time as I spend sitting at my computer, I am not its slave. Though my contact with people is radically different from my working days, such is not all bad. I make choices. Essential to engaged living is circulating with people every day. Circulating without tether of wires, ear plugs, or other such appendages. Be it the grocery store. the Y, the Children's Museum, or wherever I find myself, full attentiveness to the people I encounter, meet, and know is vital. May I help them? May they help me? May we share our joy? Or are we called to share our sorrow. Joy is not happy. Sorrow is not sad. Happy and sad are nothing more than superficial ways of gasping for air. Joy and sorrow call us to inhale...to exhale--to live fully.
Take time. Take the time. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-15.
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