Distractions – Are We Missing Life Because of Them?

You know, in this whackadoodle world that is jam-packed with toys, games, gadgets, designer clothes, and the ability to converse with virtually anyone in the world, I have to wonder if we’re a bit distracted. I think we are. I see it everywhere I go. People yakking on cell phones while they grocery shop. DVD players in the backseats of mini-vans to entertain the children so mom can do…what???? Ipods stuck in the ears of teens, adults, oldsters, youngsters and everything in between. Thanks to computer downloads there are actually some people on this planet who have never seen nor heard what a vinyl record is or sounds like. Perish the thought!We can’t get through the morning without our double-half-caf cappucino, latte, mochachino or whatever the heck…Can’t go to the gym without the right $100 sneakers. Drive-thru equals dinner. Email replaces letters. Multi-tasking is lauded over doing one thing at a time and doing it well. Talk is now work, work is now not necessary, perception is reality. Oy carumba! What a mess of stuff we have to distract us.We’re bombarded with the right place to eat, the right clothes to wear, the right car to drive, the right newspaper to read. I mean, didn’t we all start buying cable tv to get away from the ads? Well they welched on that deal. Then we rushed to the movies where we could still find some entertainment and retreat. But they figured out that they could splice in commercials there too. Then they just started putting signs on clothes and cars, and caps and keychains. On your doorknob, your windshield, your cell phone, your IM box, your email box, it fricking everywhere!

Don’t you wander back sometimes to the good old days? When fun was stalking the neighborhood with your best friend looking for pop bottles that you could exchange for cold, hard cash? And then eating the candy you bought with that cash under a big old oak tree? The days when people just shopped at grocery stores instead of texting and talking (really loud) on their cell phones. When grown ups drove cars, not scooters intended for children? When men were men, women were women and small fuzzy creatures from Pluto were small fuzzy creatures from Pluto?

We have become so enslaved by all our modern conveniences and addictions that we never see our friends, never talk to our family and rarely share a meal with our children. What is up with that? I mean, whatever would we do if there was actually a power outtage for a day or more? How would we eat? How would we talk? How would we write? Yoiks!

Now I’ve heard there is this ‘new’ trend of having media-free days. Yeah, you’re supposed to unplug, undrive, unyak, stay away from newspapers, magagzines, radios, televisions, mp3 players and I think even lawn-mowers (although the push models I believe are acceptable) and step back and take a breath. Smell the roses. Talk to your neighbors. In essence, be Amish for a day. Can’t you just see it? All of us coordinating to be media free on the same day?

We could play hopscotch on the freeways, drive down gas prices, and revisit the kitchen to actually cook something. The only bad news would be about boo-boos and toy ownership. Hey we might even find our spouses would be into some role-playing and peel a grape or two.

So…whaddaya think? Personally, I’m ready to cut the juice now.

WC