Gadget Distraction

ByHeather

What’s happening here, now, isn’t as important to me as what could be happening anywhere else.

— Renny Gleeson

I watched Renny Gleeson in a brilliant, short Ted Talk this morning talk about the sneaky, anti-social behaviors we demonstrate with our smartphones. When I am sitting in a meeting, or at an event, and I can’t resist the urge to pull out my iPhone and check my email or peruse my Twitter updates, I am actually telling those around me that what is happening in the here and now is not as important as literally anything that could come across that tiny screen.

I am fond of the old bumper sticker that says, “I would rather be here, now.” It was designed in reaction to those classic bumper stickers such as “I would rather be sailing” or “I would rather be fishing.” The truth is that I really would rather be here, now. I prefer to embrace the moment and milk each experience for all that it is worth. And yet the iPhone becomes a seductive siren call to draw my attention away to somewhere else. Go figure.

Similar Posts

  • Steinbeck on Writing

    ByHeather

    I think there is only one book to a man. It is true that a man may change or be so warped that he becomes another man and has another book but I do not think that it is so with me.

    — John Steinbeck, Journals of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters

    East of Eden was the first book that I read by Steinbeck. It was moving and well written and rich with characters. Then I discovered Journals of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters and suddenly I felt I had been given a back stage pass to the mind of a writer.

    Steinbeck had already written Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939) when he set out to write East of Eden (1951). In the intervening years he lived through two divorces and served as a war correspondent. Despite the critical success of his earlier works, his standing as a major novelist had faded. As today’s quote reveals, Steinbeck also felt that he had not yet told the one story that was within him. His editor, Pascal Covici, did all that he could to encourage Steinbeck. Covici sent Steinbeck a number of notebooks and instructed Steinbeck to use them to write.

  • Checks and Balances

    ByHeather

    Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    — Lord Acton

    I was born in Canada and came to the US between my sophomore and junior year in high school. One of my first courses in my newly adopted country was high school civics. I learned with a newcomer’s sense of awe about the three branches of government and their important role in each checking the power of the other. It is highly attributed that this system of checks and balances is the genius of the America.

    In the intervening years since those wide-eyed high school years I have been a casual observer of the reality that power and money are self preserving. …

  • Reading

    ByHeather

    Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they are written.

    — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

    I have always been a deliberate reader. When I stumbled across this quote while reading Walden so many years ago, it simply gave me permission to enjoy the pace at which I read. Good writing is more than just conveying ideas or recounting a story. Good writing creates a mood, and images, and evokes emotions — and these cannot be digested while speed reading.

    One of my favorite writers is Pat Conroy, and my favorite book of his is Prince of Tides. When I read this poetic prose I am drawn in to the rich and colorful images Conroy is able to create. Every sentence feels like a sculpture carefully crafted.

  • Life’s Mission

    ByHeather

    Here is a test to find out whether your mission on earth is finished; if you’re alive, it isn’t.

    — Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

    I came to Richard Bach via Neil Diamond’s soundtrack to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. While the metaphors in Jonathan Livingston Seagull are rather obvious now, the wisdom and insights from Illusions remain much more subtle and lasting.

    Richard Bach was quite popular in the late 70’s and 80’s. Amazon calls him the Kahil Gibran of the Me! generation. I was in my twenties at the time and, like most people in that decade of their life, I had an overwhelming sense of calling. I had a deep sense that I was placed on this earth to complete a mission, to help people see themselves, and the world, in a fresh way.

    Much has transpired since those heady days of youth. I think I have helped many people along the way, albeit never in the grand style I envisioned in my twenties. Nevertheless, on a quite day, I can still hear that voice calling inside. Since I am very much alive again today, it is good to know that my mission is not yet complete.

  • Don’t make them think

    ByHeather

    If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; But if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.

    — Don Marquis

    I lived in Denver in the late ’80s. At one point I met an acquaintance who invited me to attend his monthly book club. I was in a heavy reading phase and was excited about the prospect of connecting with fellow book lovers. I was encouraged to bring a book and plan on sharing a favorite passage.

    The book I happened to be reading at the time was The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and the passage I picked to read turned out to be pretty heavy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.