I love this poem, I didnt write it of course though.. I have 422 friends, yet I am lonely. I speak to all of them everyday, yet none of them really know me. The problem I have sits on the spaces between, looking into their eyes, or at a name on a screen. I took a step back and opened my eyes, I looked around, and then I realized, that this media we call social, is anything but when we open our computers, its our doors we shut. All of this technology we have, its just an illusion, to community, companionship, a sense of inclusion, yet when you step away from this device of delusion, you awaken to see a world of confusion. A world where were slaves to the technology we mastered, where our information gets sold by some rich greedy bastard. A world of self-interest, self-image, self-promotion, where we share our best hits but leave out the emotion. We are at our most happy with an experience we share but is it the same if no one is there. Be there for your friends and theyll be there too, but no one will be, if a group message will do. We edit and exaggerate, we crave adulation, we pretend we dont notice the isolation. We put our words in order, until our lives are glistening, we dont even know if anyone is listening. Being alone isnt the problem, let me just emphasize, that if you read a book, paint a picture, or do some exercise, you are being productive, and present, not reserved or recluse, your being awake and attentive, and putting your time to good use. So when your in public, and you start to feel alone, put your hands behind your head, and step away from the phone. You dont need to stare at your menu, or at your contacts list, just talk to one another, and learn to co-exist. I cant stand to hear the silence, of a busy commuter train, when no one wants to talk through the fear of looking insane. Were becoming unsocial, it no longer satisfies to engage with one another, and look into someones eyes. Were surrounded by children, who since they were born, watch us live like robots, and think its the norm. Its not very likely you will make worlds greatest dad, if you cant entertain a child without an iPad. When I was a child, I would never be home, Id be out with friends, on our bikes we would roam. Wed ware holes in our clothes, and graze up our knees; wed build our own clubhouse, high up in the trees. Now the parks are so quiet it gives me a chill to see no children outside and the swings hanging still. Theres no skipping or hopscotch, no church and no steeple. So look up from your phone, shut down that display, take a look at your surroundings, and make the most of today. Just one real connection is all it can take, to show you the difference that being there can make. Be there in the moment, when she gives you the look, that you remember forever, as when love overtook. The time you first hold her hand, or first kiss her lips, the time you first disagree, but you still love her to bits. The time when you dont need to tell hundreds, about what youve just done, because you want to share the moment, with just this one. The time you sell your computer, so you can buy a ring, for the girl of your dreams, who is now the real thing. The time you want to start a family, and the moment, when you first hold your baby girl, and get to fall in love all over again. The time she keeps you up at night, and all you want is rest, and the time you wipe away the tears, as your baby flees the nest. The time your little girl returns, with a boy for you to hold, and the day he calls you granddad, and makes you feel real old. The time you take in all youve made, just by giving life attention, and how your glad you didnt waste it, by looking at some invention. The time you hold your wifes hand and sit down beside her bed, you tell her you love her, and you lay a kiss upon her head. She then whispers to you quietly, as her heart gives a final beat, that shes lucky she got stopped, by that lost boy in the street. But none of those times happened, you never had any of this, when your looking down, you dont see all the chances you miss. So look up from your phone, shut down those displays, we have a finite existence, a set number of days, why waste all our time getting caught in the net, as when the end comes, theres nothing worse than regret. I am guilty too, of being a part of this machine, this digital world, where we are heard but not seen. Where we type and dont talk, where we read as we chat, where we spend hours together, without making eye contact. Dont give in to a life where you follow the hype, give people your love, dont give them your like. Disconnect from the need to be heard and defined, go out into the world, leave distractions behind
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 06:24:33 +0000
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