Making a connection
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iPod. Wireless. Laptop. These are all words of today that increasingly point to a more connected world of tomorrow. Or will it be more connected? By enabling people to communicate easily regardless of time or distance, it is easier to contact others, but is it really making a connection?
Recently, a friend at Opportunity Village told me that she looks so forward to two scheduled meetings - one for exercise and the other for making friends. Both meetings were cancelled that week. She said, "I sure hope that I will have a better day today and tomorrow and other tomorrows." The way she said what she said really stuck with me. I don't think that iPod or wireless or laptop would have helped her. She needed the community of being with others. In his book, The Way of the World, Fromkin states that "...while the modernizing revolution leads humanity on to ever greater unity, it also leads in the opposite direction by destroying social cohesion and stability." That iPod or wireless or laptop might seem to connect us, but they don't bring us together. We need each other. I think my friend was right on when she felt truly unhappy when her meeting was cancelled. The next time your iPod or wireless or laptop fails, just get together with the person at the other end. Look at it as an opportunity to make a real connection. Set aside the iPod, the wireless, the laptop. Set up a meeting, visit another person, make eye contact. Tomorrow, that's how we need to make a connection. |
Jim Holcombe
Marion, IA