No More….

How many times can a person read that it’s the end of the year, 365 days have passed, or top 5 this or top 5 that, awards and so on. Everyone has gone mad I tell you. Statistics, numbers, data is the best way to measure your annual successes? Technology is great for some thing’s and bad for others.  Being social today amounts to texting, emailing and the internet.  As a society we sit inside on our tablets, phones, PC’s or lap tops instead of physically interacting with the people around us. What happened to the days when TV wasn’t permitted to be on while eating dinner? Instead we have more TV’s than we do actual rooms plus our computers, phones and tablets can act as TV’s as well. There are TV’s in entertainment units, TV’s mounted on walls, above fire places, in kitchens, on patio’s and lanai’s, bedrooms, bathrooms, offices/studies, game rooms/play rooms, basements and dining rooms.

Get togethers’ look very different now people watching a TV show in one room and others in another room texting on their phones while the rest eat then they change shifts. Going to a persons house for a gathering consisted of light bite finger foods, wine, coffee, tea, beer and great conversations with desserts as the cherry on top. New connections had been made, old friends were able to catch up and the connection to the community thrived.

Neighborhoods are made up of a group of houses that share common areas including streets, sidewalks, parks, libraries, supermarkets, and schools. We all knew our neighbors by name, helped one another when there was a need. Today unless it was a disabled person or someone elderly would we have any idea that there was a need? If you knew it was your neighbor’s set day to go grocery shopping would you feel comfortable asking them to pick up a few items for you? Do they even have your phone number, or know if you or someone in your house has any health or allergy concerns?

As technology advances we pull back from interacting face to face to focus on interacting through the use of technology. I am not saying one is better than the other only pointing out that there should be a healthy balance of both.

Look at it this way, when a tragedy strikes the first thing we do is make sure our loved ones are safe then come together to help others. Running to protect our stat’s, on line awards, and mapped out life goals is the furthest thing from our minds. In our lifetime there have been some horrific events and while we may miss the use of technology we aren’t going to be heartbroken, bereft, and inconsolable when we aren’t able to examine our statistical data, review resolutions, or read email. Will we even care about these things, should we even care about these things?

In the upcoming year try measuring your life by the connections you make with people that gets you to interact face to face, lend a hand, know when they are in need and step in. Volunteer with a group, project or event, spend an hour or two at an assisted living facility, children’s hospital, cancer center, event that raises awareness for a disability anything that isn’t about you. When you are able to measure your growth, year, connections by bettering others than you truly do have something to measure your life about.