Wednesday, July 3, 2013

An Elixir for a Frenzied Pace

The world keeps moving faster. I used to do email once a day, but people kept getting irritated that I took twenty-four hours to respond. The assumption is that everyone has a smart phone and is checking email continuously. Not me, although I do check it about three times a day now.

James D. Best
The Good ol' Days

Sometimes I fail to answer the phone. When I follow up, the caller asks in an accusatory tone where I was. Nowadays, people expect to get hold of anyone at their convenienceespecially bosses. When you run to Starbucks from work, you need to remember to grab your cell phone off your desk or face angry stares when you return. We’re supposed to be wired at all times.




In this age of Big Data, we are getting our information in snatches. News magazines have given way to tweets. The crawl at the bottom of the screen tears your attention away from the larger story coming from the anchors. You can’t even relax while watching entertainment television because you need to have the remote handy to speed past the commercials.

Deep breath. It’s summer. Relax. Find a good book, a sand chair, and turn off the world. Take a mini-vacation with a good story. Travel to another place and time without leaving your backyard. You’ll be surprised how much you can recharge with an hour to yourself.

I’m breathless just writing this. I think I’ll go to the movies tonight and heed the admonishment not call, text, surf, or use telepathy during the screening.


May I suggest one of these.