Sunday, August 12, 2012

Time Alone

It seems to me more and more every day I see people walking around with earphones of some type. Whether it is an I-pod or a telephone. I tried carrying a Walkman once but found it to be an annoyance and a hindrance. And the boom box thing, forget about it ! But the times change and technology changes with it. I guess those ear buds have become comfortable. The only buds I ever had in my ears was potato buds ! At least Mom thought so, as she was always having me wash my ears ! Now I'm not opposed to listening to some tunes while you are walking or running. I enjoy my music as much as the next person. Earphones can make the experience more enjoyable and provide a better quality of sound. It is just the prevalence of this practice is starting to annoy, and yes, concern me. Having to try to attract someones attention by visual means I find annoying. Just speaking to them, excuse me, has no effect.
The concern comes in when you finally get their attention. Some will remove the ear buds and look at you with that,what do you want, look. Others will merely turn down the sound. I've had a few that do neither and just speak real loudly to you. What ? That I find really annoying. But the concern is with their responses. I'm thinking they should perhaps turn off those devices and listen to themselves think, if even only for a few minutes. Some of the dribble and nonsense that comes from these people I find astounding. It is obvious they have never been alone in their thoughts. I get especially concerned when you engage them in conversation and the only quotes they seem to know are pieces of a rap song by someone named p-diddy ! And they think that is a profound revelation ! Good grief man !
Another concern is that some of these, should we call them earphone people, apparently become disoriented without them. They can't seem to function. They need them to read or write. They need them when working. They need them to relax. They suffer from some sort or withdrawal symptoms. I can only assume they can not just be content in their own thoughts. What a pity. Some of the best conversations I've ever had are with myself. I've had to give myself a good talking too on more than one occasion. I've also congratulated myself when no one else would. I find that most of the answers are there if we but listen to ourselves. Those Monks are onto something with their meditation and stuff. That Dali LLama must be a great animal to have around, it seems to promote clear thinking. I prefer a cat or a dog but a LLama ? To each their own. Now that Al Paca fellow is a close second I think. Might be a cousin of that Dali LLama.
I've wandered off the track a bit though. The point is I think we all need to have a little silence every now and then. To spend time with our thoughts. To be less distracted. All this entertainment all the time can't be a good thing. I'm just sayin'.

No comments:

Post a Comment