Im A Slave 4U

Yesterday we had a meeting at The Working Center to talk about how people seem to have lost their connection to their roots. We have all (as a world and society) become so focused on consumerism and having, buying, wanting, that we have lost a sense of what matters. At least that what it seems like. We were asked to read a couple of articles that the owner/creator of The Working Center wrote a few years ago and a few points made in the articles really hit home to me. If all of a sudden there was a major disaster or life crisis, would any of us be able to survive? Think about the movie The Stand or any other movie where the end of the world is upon us and we can only use our common sense and skills to survive. Would any of us know how to grow food? Would we be able to make our own clothing? I know I wouldn't. I sure wouldn't be able to raise an animal, and kill it to eat. Even if I could somehow do that, I wouldn't know what to do next. Any time I had an animal die in my life, he or she gets cremated and put into a decorative box to adorn my bookcase... not gonna keep me fed. And I didn't cremate them! So... my point, and there is one, is that our discussions on using tools and being a slave to technology made me think.

I remember when I was a kid in elementary school, our teacher asked us where eggs came from and me (thinking I'm being smart, not smart-ass) put up my hand and said, "Safeway!" (the West's version of Sobey's). I wouldn't know the first thing about raising chickens and harvesting eggs. So if chicken farmers ever went on strike I'd have to be content to do without eggs I suppose. I have a tendency to go off on tangents and I feel one coming on now. Hold on...

I AM A SLAVE TO MY PHONE! I don't really even talk to people anymore since the onset of text messaging... *sigh* text messaging... my last phone bill said that I sent and received over 3000 text messages last month! Last month!!! Holy crap! Thank goodness for unlimited for $10. But I digress...I remember losing my phone for the day and I felt like my hand had been cut off. In contrast, I was so incredibly stressed back in Feb that I turned the phone off (and the computer) and forced myself to live in silence.. and it worked! Apparently some of my stress resulted from the fact that I make myself available to everyone all the time. Our discussions yesterday made me think about my upcoming trip. I will be near and/or in a major city where I am assuming there will be technology and modern amendments such as McDonald's (ha-kidding) being that there is a population of over 6 million on the Island (larger population than both Kitchener, Waterloo put together) and double the size of Calgary. Honduras also relies quite heavily on globalization and trade with the US so in actual fact, the need for technology would be quite prevalent. Thinking about this, I found myself almost disappointed which made me really laugh at myself. I think some of us (or maybe just me) hear Third World country and immediately envision the mud huts and half naked children running around dirt roads like we see on Feed The Children campaign ads on TV. For some reason my brain deduced that since I will be in a Third World country, I won't have access to all things technological out there and maybe I can break my chains of imprisonment that my inanimate objects seem to have me in. Maybe I would be forced into 3 months of technological silence (that kind of made me happy). But no.... the evil cell phone technology is available everywhere!! BAH.


The point of this is, how did I get so attached to my phone? I am old enough to remember the beginning of the cell phone. I remember the days when the cordless phone was something the rich people had and they were the size of bricks. We had a crackly answering machine that you may or may not be able to decipher and if you didn't get someone on the phone, you adapted. You found them later or changed your plan to be without them. We lived... we got along... the world turned... yet I leave my phone behind one day and almost have a melt down!! What if someone texts me to send me an annoying forward about hugs and how much they value my friendship and back luck will befall me if I don't forward it to 10 people? How can I miss that message!?!?!?!?! Geez....


And when the hell did I get so lazy that I need to drive from one side of a parking lot to the other in an outlet shopping complex because it's cold outside? Holy crap! I complained that I had to pay $8 a day to park downtown to volunteer when I could ride the bus for free. My argument is that it would take me an hour and a bit and two buses to get to the same place when it would only take 15 mins by car. So I suppose it's priorities. But still... Hmmm...

I'm hoping that I can take advantage of my lack of money whilst in Honduras to try to get back to my roots. I'm thinking that I might try and do without the phone, the computer and the cars (since we are not allowed to drive anyway) and see if will come out the other side still in tact without my "I'm glad you are my friend" texts. I may even get as far as not needing my phone as much when I get back again..... oooh.. just got a bit dizzy at that thought, need to sit down.... big deep breaths... it will be ok... haha.


So give these articles a browse. What are you a slave to?
http://www.theworkingcentre.org/wscd/ideas/articles/article2.html

http://www.theworkingcentre.org/wscd/ideas/articles/article7.html



(my info on Honduras came from http://www.honduras.com/ which is a tourist website that offers everything you need to know and more about vacationing there)