Just Listen

I'm getting a little bit down on some technology. I think I maybe have complained about how some of what is supposed to elevate us actually keeps us down and separated from each other. I don't know always whether the internet really is more good than it is bad. I'm trying now to be smart about what technologies I use and when. It all has some value if you are very moderate with it and make sure to put people first.

I do love my mp3 player, for example. It's a fun, convenient little thing. I slip it in my pocket and can use it any time without being weighed down. The trouble is that it keeps out the world from my ears. I love music dearly, but I had the idea that in listening to it out of the house, I'm maybe in a sense trying to stay at home even when I leave. Why would I step out among the cars and people if I don't want to hear everything and see everyone?

Moreover, I need to take in all that. Listening to my favorite tunes yet another time is fun, but what new do I get from it? Most of what I do is trying to create things, and I can't create things from nothing. I have got to be totally receptive to any kind of stimuli which might spark an honestly good thought. There is far more out there stifling though than there is encouraging it, and I can't have that.

I wrestle with how to use the music player. It's a wonderful thing and was a thoughtful and generous gift, but I don't know. I thought that it would be all right to use it when nothing's going on, but when is that ever true? I can think of quiet, still nights when I was awash in great ideas. Loud music would have spoiled it. Well, maybe what I can do is just be so productive most of the time that I can write off what time I do spend not listening to the world. That way I can add more productive years to the end of my life.