Conversations

 The other day someone asked if the art of conversation had disappeared from our culture. Dinner parties, they said, with lots of illustrious guests all talking about interesting things. It made me stop and think. We were enjoying lunch in a busy restaurant and talking our heads off as usual. 

"That couple over there hasn't said a word to each other," said my companion. "He has his nose buried in his phone and she's just sitting there. Wonder if they've had a row or does he really think scrolling through his phone is more interesting than talking to his wife, assuming she's his wife.?"

Of course, it was none of our business but when we looked around the restaurant, we saw that several couples were deep into scrolling their phones. It is too common a sight to cause much interest but when you think about it: what happened to the art of conversation?

Supposing you are attending an interview and the interviewer wants to size up you and your potential for the job. I believe they always check your social media posts. Too bad if you went off the deep end over some celebrity mash up and took the wrong side from the interviewer's point of view, even if it was two years ago and you changed your mind since. The thing about the spoken word is that it can be forgotten and not raked up ten years later.

Just imagine sitting down to a dinner with some of your favourite people - and all of them too busy scrolling through their phones to do more than acknowledge the arrival of the soup!

 

Coping with things

Seems like this has been going on now for a hundred years!  I checked in my diary and saw that the last time I was in any kind of gathering was only two weeks ago. Incredible! It's not that I was out partying every night, I live alone so am used to silence. But I didn't realize how much I actually went out until I stopped. I am a member of a few clubs, there's a book club I go to once a month, I meet up with friends to go to the cinema or just for a chat. I'm involved in a community centre. And when the mood takes me, I like to hop on the bus and visit the big city for a walk around the shops. That's all gone for now and I miss the freedom.

Being a "senior", I am washing my hands, keeping my distance, not visiting or receiving visitors, shopping once a week and going for walks every day. I think I would add one more thing to that list, namely, stop reading the rumours on social media. For some people, bless their happy hearts, no news can bad enough so they invent worse scenarios - I sometimes think they should just binge watch catastrophe movies on television.

The weather is sunny here and I have the sea on my doorstep, something you pay a lot of money to experience.
I met a few acquaintances on my walk this morning and we were all so pleased to see each other and exchange experiences, keeping our distance of course.

If we learn one thing from this, it is that we are herd animals. We might all talk on our mobiles and keep in touch using social media but there is nothing like human contact, when all is said and done.
It is a reassuring thought in a world that is getting more and more robot driven.
Stay safe everyone!

Light and Dark

Remember the good karma and the bad karma? It seems there are also light and dark triads. I guess some scientists and philosophers and those who reckon they are scientists and philosophers have nothing better to do than analyze us and keep on coming up with new ideas on The Human Condition.
What next? I ask myself. We all know lovable rogues, friends who get on our nerves because they always arrive late at the meet-up point, people who will help you at the drop of a hat, people who are genuinely caring, people who don't listen once they've asked you how you are. You don't have to be a scientist to understand human nature.
I think we should all be self-aware and I think most of us are. How many times have we thought "oh no, there I go again, putting my foot in it".
On the other hand, if you can't be separated from your mobile/social media, I reckon you don't get time to think about anything. On my walks to the beach I meet walkers, joggers, runners, who all have their ear plugs in and a blank look on their faces as they listen to a pod cast or whatever. Why bother getting out to the beach if you can't hear the sound of the waves slapping against the rocks or the sea gulls mewling or children shouting and laughing? Recently, I sat behind a young girl on the bus and during the 45 minute journey she kept taking selfies and viewing the result on her phone. How sad is that?
Yes, I know, there are tons of people out there, young and old who not only wake up and smell the coffee but also look around them and appreciate what they see. But there is a worrying trend and - let's face it - I am not the only one to have noticed it.

For a more professional report on the light and dark side of human nature, try this link:Discovery Magazine article on light and dark triads