Every summer, I would spend time with my cousins at my grandma's house. It was the best time I've ever had in my whole life. It was the joy of a week long sleepover, picking right up with best friends as if no time had passed at all, even though in fact, a year had passed.
Each summer we would go to the zoo and in particular the rain forest exhibit. I've been back since and it's pretty nice. But as a kid, to me it was not just an exhibit, it was The Rain Forest. And most importantly, it was a signpost in the large world of my childhood.
The summer I was ten, while visiting the rain forest with my cousins, I sat down on a bench and really noticed where I was. I remember clearly thinking, I am here. I will think of this all year and for the rest of my life, but right now, I am here.
Every once in awhile, I am able to notice that this life of ours, this short little burst, is a love affair.
I recently went to a social media conference, and while most of the speakers talked positively about the power of the internet, the best speaker was a bit of a downer, and I think I was the only one that truly liked what he was saying. He said that our reliance on technology -- the idea that we have this urge now to communicate "the now" to others, via cameraphone, text, Facebook, etc. takes us out of "the now." He theorizes that in the next generation our sense of self will be completely different, with nobody feeling "the now" anymore.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Nova 2.0 would probably be so busy messing around on her ipad she wouldn't even know she was at the zoo. Maybe Nova 2.0 would go to this amazing virtual zoo.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. Doesn't the older generation always think the younger generation is getting it wrong?
But, I like technology and I'm still in love with NOW. and noticing now. But I also grew up old fashioned. And I don't have an ipad.
Thanks for commenting, Neil. This is a sparsely read blog. Really,I thought it was just my mom who read. You are nice.