What I really need, is NOT simplicity
I’m a bit concerned about the world, more specifically humanity. Here’s why.
I’ll be the first to admit that I love simplicity in my life as well as new “gadgets” to play with. The walk to the train in the morning would not be the same without the sounds blaring through my ears from my I-Pod and I just can’t seem to get enough of those Ti-Vo's (did I spell that right) that now allow us to go about our increasingly busy lives, without missing a single one of our beloved shows. God forbid I miss an episode of Scrubs or Everybody Loves Raymond (my two favorite shows). But things have gotten a little out of control and I’m concerned that we are relying too heavily on “convenience” to get us through life and pretty soon we’re going to be useless bodies carried by two feet (although with all the new gadgets out there we may not even have to WALK anymore) incapable of survival. After all, do we really know how to survive without drive thrus?
Case in point.
Tara and I were at the State Fair a few weeks ago sitting at the Budweiser tent enjoying the beautiful day and an ice cold Bud Light. A few minutes later this woman and her husband walk up to us and Tara says to me “Have we really gotten to the point where we can’t even carry our own water anymore?” Wondering what she was talking about I quickly turned to see the woman had strapped around her waist a fanny pack type device with a little cup holder attached to it for her to place her water bottle (or beer in this case) once she was done “holding” it. I laughed thinking at how ridiculous it was that she couldn’t hold the water herself but gave her the benefit of the doubt in that it’s the fair, you do a lot of eating, maybe some game playing where you’ll win a big stuffed animal in which case, there is no room for you to be carrying a nuisance like a water bottle! Plus she’s obviously a recycler so she would just feel TERRIBLE about throwing away a plastic object into the receptacles just to fill the landfill with even more garbage and that was just too much to be weighing on her conscious for one evening. Therefore, she opted for the convenience of a cup holder on her waist. Kudos to you and your environmentally safe attitude.
But she got me thinking.
Where have we come in this modern society? A society filled with MP3 players, and cell phones, and alarm clocks with touch screens as opposed to buttons (Tara has one, it’s REALLY cool) are we really becoming more efficient, or just plain lazy? And then last night, Tara was flipping through her fitness magazine and stopped on an advertisement for a new pair of Oakley sunglasses. A bit excited at the new technology that was out (she’s an IT major) she explained what features these new sunglasses had on them: built in stereo headphone that pick up satellite radio while you walk. No more cords to an MP3 player. Are you kidding? Was that cord running down to my hip that much of a nuisance? I mean sure, sometimes when you’re running your arm gets a bit tangled in the wire and you find yourself strangled with your arm wrapped tightly against your chest, but is a built in stereo really the “convenient” solution? Won’t those bounce up and down on your face causing you to forget about the movement of your feet and concentrate solely on the fact that your nose is getting more bruised with each step to the point where you trip and fall and break your nose anyways? Doesn’t sound convenient to me!
I guess I just fear for my children (assuming I have them). With so much out there right now, and with much more on the way, the need for self sufficiency just isn’t there anymore. And like that old cliché goes: “if you can’t rely on yourself, you can’t rely on anyone”…Where does that leave us then?
I propose we have a “back to basics” day. Let’s say, August 17. August is lacking for “time off of school and work” days anyways, let’s give it one. It’ll be a day to put our MP3 players in the drawers, get out of our cars and sit down for a meal (or if you’re real ambitious COOK our own meal), do some math problems with our kids on paper instead of on a calculator or a computer, and watch one of those things called a sporting event that existed long before video games took away the thrill of watching a man hit a ball with a bat as opposed to knocking his brains out or stealing a car for money. Maybe if we could get back to the basics of it all: the beauty of the world, the love in our lives, and the interests that exist outside of technology we would realize that maybe “convenience” isn’t all its cracked up to be. (Quick shout out to Erin for encouraging this concept as well. She writes a blog for VISITMilwaukee which encourages local Milwaukeeans, as well as visitors to get out, and get active. Check it out! [nice segway right Erin?! he he] www.playinthecity.blogs.com)
And Maybe, just maybe the next time Suzie (that’s what I’ll call my fair friend) is at the State Fair she’ll remember that she’s lucky to be alive in the first place. The least she can do is hold on to her own bottle of water.
I’ll be the first to admit that I love simplicity in my life as well as new “gadgets” to play with. The walk to the train in the morning would not be the same without the sounds blaring through my ears from my I-Pod and I just can’t seem to get enough of those Ti-Vo's (did I spell that right) that now allow us to go about our increasingly busy lives, without missing a single one of our beloved shows. God forbid I miss an episode of Scrubs or Everybody Loves Raymond (my two favorite shows). But things have gotten a little out of control and I’m concerned that we are relying too heavily on “convenience” to get us through life and pretty soon we’re going to be useless bodies carried by two feet (although with all the new gadgets out there we may not even have to WALK anymore) incapable of survival. After all, do we really know how to survive without drive thrus?
Case in point.
Tara and I were at the State Fair a few weeks ago sitting at the Budweiser tent enjoying the beautiful day and an ice cold Bud Light. A few minutes later this woman and her husband walk up to us and Tara says to me “Have we really gotten to the point where we can’t even carry our own water anymore?” Wondering what she was talking about I quickly turned to see the woman had strapped around her waist a fanny pack type device with a little cup holder attached to it for her to place her water bottle (or beer in this case) once she was done “holding” it. I laughed thinking at how ridiculous it was that she couldn’t hold the water herself but gave her the benefit of the doubt in that it’s the fair, you do a lot of eating, maybe some game playing where you’ll win a big stuffed animal in which case, there is no room for you to be carrying a nuisance like a water bottle! Plus she’s obviously a recycler so she would just feel TERRIBLE about throwing away a plastic object into the receptacles just to fill the landfill with even more garbage and that was just too much to be weighing on her conscious for one evening. Therefore, she opted for the convenience of a cup holder on her waist. Kudos to you and your environmentally safe attitude.
But she got me thinking.
Where have we come in this modern society? A society filled with MP3 players, and cell phones, and alarm clocks with touch screens as opposed to buttons (Tara has one, it’s REALLY cool) are we really becoming more efficient, or just plain lazy? And then last night, Tara was flipping through her fitness magazine and stopped on an advertisement for a new pair of Oakley sunglasses. A bit excited at the new technology that was out (she’s an IT major) she explained what features these new sunglasses had on them: built in stereo headphone that pick up satellite radio while you walk. No more cords to an MP3 player. Are you kidding? Was that cord running down to my hip that much of a nuisance? I mean sure, sometimes when you’re running your arm gets a bit tangled in the wire and you find yourself strangled with your arm wrapped tightly against your chest, but is a built in stereo really the “convenient” solution? Won’t those bounce up and down on your face causing you to forget about the movement of your feet and concentrate solely on the fact that your nose is getting more bruised with each step to the point where you trip and fall and break your nose anyways? Doesn’t sound convenient to me!
I guess I just fear for my children (assuming I have them). With so much out there right now, and with much more on the way, the need for self sufficiency just isn’t there anymore. And like that old cliché goes: “if you can’t rely on yourself, you can’t rely on anyone”…Where does that leave us then?
I propose we have a “back to basics” day. Let’s say, August 17. August is lacking for “time off of school and work” days anyways, let’s give it one. It’ll be a day to put our MP3 players in the drawers, get out of our cars and sit down for a meal (or if you’re real ambitious COOK our own meal), do some math problems with our kids on paper instead of on a calculator or a computer, and watch one of those things called a sporting event that existed long before video games took away the thrill of watching a man hit a ball with a bat as opposed to knocking his brains out or stealing a car for money. Maybe if we could get back to the basics of it all: the beauty of the world, the love in our lives, and the interests that exist outside of technology we would realize that maybe “convenience” isn’t all its cracked up to be. (Quick shout out to Erin for encouraging this concept as well. She writes a blog for VISITMilwaukee which encourages local Milwaukeeans, as well as visitors to get out, and get active. Check it out! [nice segway right Erin?! he he] www.playinthecity.blogs.com)
And Maybe, just maybe the next time Suzie (that’s what I’ll call my fair friend) is at the State Fair she’ll remember that she’s lucky to be alive in the first place. The least she can do is hold on to her own bottle of water.