The world is at your fingertips. In certain ways.
Let me explain. Several weeks back I was enjoying a cocktail on our back deck. Crisp late afternoon weather. The trees swaying in a light breeze. Very meditative.
I have my phone with me. It buzzes and a friend I’ll call Noz has texted me. I smile and respond.
He’s designed some buttons for our upcoming 50th high school reunion. They are touching and meaningful.
I sip my drink. Text him back. Birds chirp. Nature beckons. I connect through modern technology.
I begin to think: “No way would someone be doing this 15 years ago.” While the basic technology was there 15 years ago, we hadn’t chosen to connect with others to the degree we do in 2024. Wireless connectivity has seamlessly integrated into most of our lives, putting the world at our fingertips and letting us do things we’d not previously considered.
At the same time I’m communicating Noz, another friend we’ll call Haz is sending me designs for a golf vest I’ve created. It’s something I do regularly for an annual gathering with my two brothers and our three sons. Haz sends me a mockup of what the vests look like.
I respond to her, ask two short questions. She texts me back. I give her the okay. She moves forward with the order, which will be in my hands in less than two weeks. I dust my hands off, sip my cocktail.
These are not world-changing events by any means. Yet I marveled while sitting there enjoying my evening how easily we can communicate with others for fun or to accomplish some level of business/work. Send a message. Talk to someone. Make a decision. Access data. Sip a cocktail. Munch on some peanuts. Inhale Swiss cheese.
A phone call came in from our younger daughter. We worked through some details for her upcoming wedding.
My assigner for basketball officiating sent an email seeking open dates for availability in the upcoming season. I accessed my schedule, figured out where I could help him and sent back the days I could work.
Our dog (Pepper) and our male cat (Smudge) stood forlornly at the screen door. I got up to let them out, grabbed some radishes from the fridge and munched on them as I resettled in my chair outside.
I felt relaxed, unrushed, comfortable, tapping away on the phone, contemplating nature, the wonders of our world at my fingertips allowing me to have this early evening time that wedded meditation while working through minor organization details.
Maybe it was the alcohol that made me contemplative. The more I sat there though, the more I thought about how weird it is that we can do all these things at once, information flying through the air to emerge on our phones so we can solve problems, make decisions, deliver information to others or just plain chat with a friend or relative.
Because the phone is so ubiquitous in our lives, we probably take these types of days in stride. For one day though, I marveled how I held some of the world in my fingertips.
The world is at your fingertips. In certain ways.
Let me explain. Several weeks back I was enjoying a cocktail on our back deck. Crisp late afternoon weather. The trees swaying in a light breeze. Very meditative.
I have my phone with me. It buzzes and a friend I’ll call Noz has texted me. I smile and respond.
He’s designed some buttons for our upcoming 50th high school reunion. They are touching and meaningful.
I sip my drink. Text him back. Birds chirp. Nature beckons. I connect through modern technology.
I begin to think: “No way would someone be doing this 15 years ago.” While the basic technology was there 15 years ago, we hadn’t chosen to connect with others to the degree we do in 2024. Wireless connectivity has seamlessly integrated into most of our lives, putting the world at our fingertips and letting us do things we’d not previously considered.
At the same time I’m communicating Noz, another friend we’ll call Haz is sending me designs for a golf vest I’ve created. It’s something I do regularly for an annual gathering with my two brothers and our three sons. Haz sends me a mockup of what the vests look like.
I respond to her, ask two short questions. She texts me back. I give her the okay. She moves forward with the order, which will be in my hands in less than two weeks. I dust my hands off, sip my cocktail.
These are not world-changing events by any means. Yet I marveled while sitting there enjoying my evening how easily we can communicate with others for fun or to accomplish some level of business/work. Send a message. Talk to someone. Make a decision. Access data. Sip a cocktail. Munch on some peanuts. Inhale Swiss cheese.
A phone call came in from our younger daughter. We worked through some details for her upcoming wedding.
My assigner for basketball officiating sent an email seeking open dates for availability in the upcoming season. I accessed my schedule, figured out where I could help him and sent back the days I could work.
Our dog (Pepper) and our male cat (Smudge) stood forlornly at the screen door. I got up to let them out, grabbed some radishes from the fridge and munched on them as I resettled in my chair outside.
I felt relaxed, unrushed, comfortable, tapping away on the phone, contemplating nature, the wonders of our world at my fingertips allowing me to have this early evening time that wedded meditation while working through minor organization details.
Maybe it was the alcohol that made me contemplative. The more I sat there though, the more I thought about how weird it is that we can do all these things at once, information flying through the air to emerge on our phones so we can solve problems, make decisions, deliver information to others or just plain chat with a friend or relative.
Because the phone is so ubiquitous in our lives, we probably take these types of days in stride. For one day though, I marveled how I held some of the world in my fingertips.
