"Why do people allow a box to live their lives for them. Why? I want to live, go outside and dream and follow my heart, not watch actors on a stage jump around all day telling me how to talk, live, dress, and play. Why are people so obsessed with these hypnotizing machines? It’s a constant distraction, an addiction that masks them. Without the ability to slow down for just a moment, contemplate the love of life, no wonder there is so much unhappiness in this world we live in, people continuously look outside themselves for something to keep them fed. If for one day or even an hour the flashing screens were turned off without power. What then would occur, what then would they use, to distract themselves from the present moment, their Truth? "
What she speaks of and longs for, is what I experienced as a child. We didn't have electricity in our house until I was about three. Even after we got it, we only used it for lights and a freezer to store food in. I was about seven when we got our first TV.
My sister was eleven months younger than me. We were playmates and entertained each other. I would "bake" mud cakes with her, and she would play cowboy with me, riding tobacco sticks around the dusty yard under a big maple tree, and shooting my cap gun. And on some summer nights, I would go out in the front yard and sit with my dad under a big old maple tree where it was cool ... listen to the bullfrogs croak in the pond. Other times, I would go out by myself and lay on the hood of our car and stare up at the heavens in awe. There were no "security" lights out in the country to mask the view of the sky then, and my eyes were good. To this day, there is nothing that makes me feel so connected to one another, and to all living things on this earth, than to see the vastness of the Universe and realize how insignificant our little blue marble is in comparison.
We lived and worked on our farm. We had work and chores to do, and we relished the times when we could just have some free time to play. Our dad and mom was always there, teaching us to work and the ways of country life. We grew up with a deep appreciation and respect for plants, animals, and our environment, because we saw how dependent we are upon them to survive. By today's standards we would have been living in poverty, but it wasn't like that for us. A person's wealth was not measured in the amount of material goods one acquired, rather it was in the amount of hard work and sacrifice one was willing to do to support family, friends, and neighbors. What we learned growing up in that kind of environment is priceless.
There is a big chasm disconnecting this young lady's generation and mine. Up until my generation, a boy could learn everything he needed to know to get by, just from the wisdom of his grandfather. But starting with my generation, we have had to constantly learn new things, learn brand new skills, work in different environments, and adapt to the changing technologies. As a result, my children and grandchildren have not had the opportunity to experience the same kind of childhood that I had. I have not been able to live like my parents, and in the process of learning the new ways, I have forgotten to pass on the basic values that applies to all generations. It is tragic, that in this process, the young folks have been left out of an extremely important experience while growing up. I hear what my young friend is saying, and now feel that a bridge needs to be built over the chasm, so that our species can again have respect for life and the planet. We can use some things like this blog internet connection, google earth, and google sky, to help build a bridge, but we still need to "go to the woods", gaze at the stars, and have personal contact with friends, to get us back to the "garden".
Peace little sister!
