Thursday, April 29, 2010

Progress or Problem....?

Sometimes, I look around at the world today and wonder... is this really necessary...?  


I mean, why do we need all this STUFF?  Would your life end without the new iPhone?  Is it that important that someone be able to get in touch with you at any time of the day or night...?  What would I do without Publix...?  And why do I have to get on a machine and run to nowhere for an hour at least 3 days a week in order to be a reasonable weight?


I often wonder what people from as little as 75 years ago would think if they saw someone running down the street.  I tell you what they'd think.  They'd think A) they're being chased by someone/something or B) there was some sort of emergency!!  Why the hell would you run just to run...?  They weren't worried about burning extra calories.  Why?  Because their activities of daily living required enough energy to balance out 3 meals per day.  Most people maintained some sort of garden that gave them produce throughout at least half of the year, and few people owned more than one motorcar (if they owned one at all).  Children played outside and were constantly in motion as opposed to glued to the the latest video game or Hannah Montana movie.  Many of the jobs entailed manual labor (jobs which today are seen as not fit for a respectable person to have).  The way I was raised, having a job and doing it to the best of your ability was one of the most respectable things you could do, whatever that job may be.  Now I work with a number of people who might have a job, but seem to resent having to actually work when they get there.  That blows my mind.  Just go the hell home.


Back to cell phones... I just came back from five days at the beach.  I had my phone and computer with me and was constantly in contact with any number of friends at all times... including select text messages that cause you more stress the next day than you had before you even decided to take a vacation in the first place! OOPS!  What kind of vacation is that, really...?  When I was a kid, there were no cell phones (at least I wasn't friends with anyone who had that much money).  When we went on vacation, we went on VACATION... i.e. we vacated.  We left the name and number of the hotel where we would be staying with our grandparents who lived nearby, and then we were gone.  We didn't call anyone, and hopefully no one called us, cause if they did it probably meant something bad had happened.  Now, just the thought of turning my phone off for a week gives me a near panic attack... When I went to college as a freshman, I had a phone in my room with an answering machine... If I'm not home when you call, I'll call you back later cause I'm busy doing something else, or spending time with someone else.  RULE TO REMEMBER:  People in person always come before people on the phone... ESPECIALLY, if it's just you and  another.


Just thinking about the monthly bills of today alone is a little depressing.  No wonder everyone is in debt.  Once upon a time, it was phone, power, water, and maybe gas if that was applicable.  Today you can expect that, plus a usually outrageous cell phone and cable bill, as well as any number of memberships we might have, be it tanning salon, gym, etc.  I dunno about you, but I think we need to "cut the fat" as they used to say.


I guess what I'm trying to say here in this barrage of thoughts and opinions is this:  What was so bad about the simple way of life?  And how have we gotten so far away from that?  Sometimes, I really would like to go "back in time" so to speak and live out in the country... raise as much of my own food as I was able to do... Find entertainment from simple things such as evenings on the porch with friends.... watching a family of birds grow up in a holly bush in the backyard over the course of a spring... Receiving an actual letter in the mail (those still make me excited on the rare occasion that they arrive)... Somehow, it seems we've gotten so "in-touch" with each other, that we've become "out-of-touch" with ourselves and what life is actually about.


Of course... As I sit here thinking all of this, I'm putting it into a blog... so go figure.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

Hey, what's your address? ;)

Unknown said...

As a senior citizen on medicare, I have a responsibility to say, "The Good Ol' Days" are WAY overrated. I lived in them.
Joanna

FireLight said...

Well, Darling, welcome to the 21st Century!!! Not always a pretty place!! Who knew...???