Retro is the New Wave

About a month ago, my email software program had a "worm" or "virus" or something that prevented me from sending emails. It was a particularly busy time for me as I was organizing a teacher training program and a non-profit fundraiser and wanting to respond to all of the emails that came my way each day. Or so, I believed it to be a "busy time". It was unnerving that I had internet service, I had a working computer and yet I was not able to function because I couldn't send out emails. I found myself in this madness and frenzy of not being able to send out all of these letters and emails that I had "listed" for myself. And, this realization was a wake-up call. How could I have let the machine run the human. Isn't it the human that manages the machine?

I went through a kind of withdrawal and frustration and I realized quite simply: I was addicted. I was addicted to email, to messaging, and I had started equating my self in relationship to others through the computer and the blackberry. Taking a big step back, I went cold turkey off technology for a couple of days and sat still. In reflection, in meditation and with breath, I remembered. There was a time not too long ago when we called each other. There were no cell phones, but answering machines. Meeting people meant setting dates and going to the place agreed upon at the time negotiated. Period. Payphones were on most corners and communication was immediate and in real-time. Now and present. In business, faxes and messenger services took care of urgent details and lunch dates and meetings made work meaningful and fun. And it all managed just fine.

With this realization, I took a big break from technology and considered the idea that we have lost touch with our humanness. We are people turning into robots, as we depersonalize the most important element of our humanity which is our natural desire for personal contact, awareness, attention, affection, allowing, acceptance and appreciation through voice, touch, taste, sound and sight. A machine or an emoticon should not replace the hello, the embrace or the smile. Yet, the lack of human contact with communication via machine is where our emotional and social intelligence is being reformatted.

The technological age has created freedom is some ways and slavery in others. With communication devices zipping and zapping information to us so quickly there is the inherent expectation to respond in the same speedy fashion and yet the human response reciprocity mechanics of the human brain may require more processing time than the computer chip. In plain language, the blackberry message comes through instantly and yet our natural thought processes usually take more time and require more awareness than an instant response.

At least my brain does better with more time and space to process human interactions! And so, over the last month, I returned to my list of things to do, rewrote the list and starting making calls. The old-fashioned way of communicating with people: the phone call! Simple and delicious and spacious. Giving up the email, the blackberry messaging and the texting was a much needed and required rest. In calling people and having live and present conversations, the most curious and humorous thing has happened. When I phone people, the call is answered usually quite promptly and the response is, "Hi, Stephanie! What's wrong? Are you okay?" I laugh on the other end of the line recognizing that the phone call is being answered and it is such a novelty ~ we don't call each other anymore ~ that it indicates urgency. As the phone conversation continues, there is usually laughter, shared information that is immediate and relevant and a commitment to see each other in the future. And the cycle of human contact continues.

I'm not giving up on email and text and blackberry messenging all together. They are here to stay and quite effective. However, keeping the tools of communication that are available and useful and purposeful in "checks and balances" will be a happier place for me and my social and emotional needs as a person. This has been my awakening. And the invitation is here to try it for yourself. Pick up the phone instead of texting or emailing for business and personal endeavors and see what happens. Take a vacation from the technology, create a retreat for yourself and open to the beauty, grace and spirit that surrounds you and your waking, walking, talking human life.

Om Java Om!