Wrenching life from the cyber social mad scientist

Lately there has been a spate of Facebook friends putting their page on hiatus and quite honestly it's unwittingly planted seeds of doubt, wonder and possibilities. They've all seemed to come to the conclusion that Facebook comparable to an all consuming fatal disease- one that saps your energy and life force, eats at you, little by little, and leaves you with very little time to live. Or better yet, I could liken the progressively addictive qualities of Facebook to the lobotomized victim of foul play. There must be some mad science performing a global experiment: how to enslave formally productive people to a cyber social program that eventually induces anti-social behaviors towards real-life family and friends.

I admit, I'm a tad bit alarmed by the discovery of the trail of thoughts whispering in my head; those pesky dissenters. I know exactly why those cyber buddies left Facebook, but how did they find the courage? Facebook consumes such a large part of one's day but we reason that it's 'productive' time well spent; we have countless 'a ha' moments from reading so many wonderful quotes, we pass along ingenious recipes and links to a gazillion articles, we share thought provoking photos, we catch up with others' cyber lives... and, and, and... I also take note of the piles of unorganized real life 'stuff' growing around me cluttering my mental space, projects left undone, to-do lists unwritten, house cleaning relegated to a level previously unacceptable, but since there is very little real life socializing taking place, no one will ever see it but family (those folks I spend little time with). Actually, I spend very little time with myself... I'm so connected, I'm quite disconnected from myself. I am indeed addicted.

So begins the detox - the vital journey back to me, the 'Me before Facebook took over 80% of the productive hours of my life outside of work'. I look forward to gaining perspective and checking off those to-do lists. Am I closing my Facebook account? No. Am I logging off indefinitely? No. I'm simply logging in less.

Tech in the Midst of the Forest

 While driving my son to school I listened to a piece on NPR about e-books' and the survival of large and small book stores, and it got me thinking. If they are to survive, they have to adjust - it's something we all are doing (adjusting and surviving).  I love books - enjoy the way they feel, look and have fond childhood memories of reading, undisturbed, for hours. I've lugged boxes of books around with me through every stage in life, from state to state, from room to room. My bookshelves housed the image of myself, expressed my philosophical views and let everyone know 'where I stand'.

Now we are UPsizing, simplifying and one day going rural. I'm a firm adherant to 'woman of few things', so where do my paper memories fit into this lightened scheme of things? As a beautiful relic in my mind. It's one of those things I have to let go in order to gain greater flexibility and versatility. My beloved beauties are taking up valuable real estate in our living space. So I'll be investing in the electronic versions that can be lightly transported wherever I go; even in the midst of a beloved forest.