Moving way past the past

Still with Emerson tonight. I thought I would move to one of my favorite passages from Self-Reliance.

The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle. He has a fine Geneva watch, but he fails of the skill to tell the hour by the sun. A Greenwich nautical almanac he has, and so being sure of the information when he wants it, the man in the street does not know a star in the sky. The solstice he does not observe; the equinox he knows as little; and the whole bright calendar of the year is without a dial in his mind. His note-books impair his memory; his libraries overload his wit; the insurance-office increases the number of accidents; and it may be a question whether machinery does not encumber.

I have loved this quotation since I got out of college several years ago. I love its premise. And it is more true today than ever. The part in red summarizes the whole quotation. I wish that people would allow themselves not to be stuck in a world that can't keep up anymore. When I am away from my phone, I feel lost anymore. I used to cherish the times when I left my house and didn't have to hear the phone ring. I could escape the land line for a couple of hours. Now it is different. I left my phone on my desk for 30 minutes today and missed an important text message. I hated the fact that I forgot to take my phone with me. Now with twitter, blogging, texting, googledocs, simultaneous communication has become so important. Sometimes I receive pictures instead of text. Most of the time those are worth a thousand words of text. So I miss leaving my phone behind anywhere.

No, I haven't lost anything from the past. I have traded what was important then for what is important now. If anything I enjoy life so much more by communicating more frequently and in more ways with those I care about deeply. Others can look back sadly and with nostalgia remember those golden days of solitude and quiet and slower paces. But I enjoy the pictures I am sent of others' lives, of texts with LOL in them, of internet connections to read someone's blog when I am traveling, of email that dings me for a timely message of personal thought. Just love it, and HAVE NOT lost former abilities, but have built on them.

No I can't tell you stars in the sky. I can't read the sun dial. I have completely forgotten about walking anywhere (unless it is for exercise only, so I'm not really walking to get anywhere). Google has definitely replaced my memory altogether. Somehow, that's not bad. And I am one happy person to be able to share life with those around me better than any generation before me. I'll make that trade everyday of the week.