Connected….

Today I had the internet access installed at the lake. I thought I would be able to leave connectivity for a while…even a year but it’s no use.I have succumbed to the threat of 3G bills and installed something on my roof that ensures that I can see the world and the world can see me. Even at the lake. I guess that’s alright.

It was nice to be “offline” for a couple of weeks. At least in my own mind I was off-line and feeling pretty self-righteous about it too. I found myself bragging about not having internet. How weird is that? Our society has shifted so much in the last decade or so that you are odd if you are ‘offline”.

We are a connected world. I’m not sure how much that is helping us though. A hundred years ago we were not as connected and yet there was a “shot heard round the world” that resulted in a world war. Now every shot is heard around the world and there are so many on a daily basis that we are becoming numb to the destruction and the loss of human life. It all seems hopeless and we feel helpless to do anything except stay connected … at least to our friends and family and to those we care about.

Although I can get TV programming through my internet I have unplugged from my daily fix of CBC news. In my apartment in St Albert the CBC news keeps me company. Here at the lake the birds and the wind in the trees keep me company. I have all of the conveniences of home here and yet … as those of you with cottages and cabins can attest … a home away is both of those things…home and away. There is a different pace and a different feel here. I like it.

It is not as if you can forget that world is once again on the eve of destruction. It’s just that it seems further away and not so immediate. I hold out hope for mankind. Songs of the sixties are ringing in my head and I realize how much they influenced my stance on war and sex and drugs and rock and roll. I am encouraged when I hear remakes of those old tunes and see the fashions of that time coming back. I so hope that the thinking comes back too. Bring back the revolution. “Give Peace a Chance”

We are connected. We are the world. Let’s make a difference.