Crunch Time

The loss of reverie

I'm pooped. I mean it. Our contemporary culture and its accompanying stresses has left me exhausted. Not in the physical sense, mind you, but in the mental.  The speed at which everything runs today is zapping my cognitive resistance.  What is eroding in me is attention.  I can't focus.

Despite our wondrous technologies and scientific advances, we are nurturing a culture of diffusion, fragmentation, and detachment.  The thesis of a very important book by Maggie Jackson entitled Distracted posits that the way we live is eroding our capacity for deep, sustained, perceptive attention - the building block of intimacy, wisdom and cultural progress. She writes that

"Increasingly we are shaped by distraction...the seduction of alternative virtual universes, the addictive allure of multitasking people and things, our near religious allegiance to a constant state of motion: these are markers of a land of distraction...This is why we are less and less able to see, hear and comprehend what's relevant and permanent, why so many of us feel that we can barely keep our heads above water, and our days are marked by perpetual loose ends."

It suddenly dawned on me that I no longer waste time. My days have been subdivided into smaller and smaller units of efficient time. I have lost reverie. Reverie is a state of being lost in one's thoughts; to daydream.  When is the last time you daydreamed?  When was the last time you deeply pondered a sunset, or sprawled on the grass with your arms behind your head letting your thoughts wander with the movement of the clouds? 

If, like me, it's been a while, then you are overly distracted.  We are in essence not nurturing our inner selves when we lose reverie. I encourage you to go ahead and waste some time every day.  Don't let the efficiency bug infect you. Give yourself permission to go against the speed, expectations, and distractions of your life. Don't respond to the annoying "ping" of arriving email - stay focused on the task at hand. Shut off the television and read a book for two hours straight (think you can?). Don't check Facebook or Twitter for a whole week.  Have a three hour dinner with good friends. Let go of the guilt for wasting time.

You'll be a more interesting and deeply peaceful person as a result.

Artists of being alive

I recently received a card from a wonderful colleague and friend of mine.  It was created by J. Stone cards.  I find myself reading and re-reading the words that were inscribed within it. May their tribe increase!!

the most visible creators i know of are those artists who express the inexpressible -- with out brush, hammer, clay or guitar. they neither paint nor sculpt -- their medium is being. whatever their presence touches has increased life. they see and don't have to draw. they are the artists of being alive...

Listen to your life

During these chaotic times of change and uncertainty in our lives, I'm reminded again of some wonderful words:

"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace."

-from Frederick Buechner's Now and Then

Magic happens

Today I had the honor of witnessing the Teacher of the Year ceremony at Denver Academy. It was particularly poignant since the award is now named in honor of a long time Denver Academy teacher and one of my all-time best friends, Kevin Gregier. He passed away last November (2008) from cancer at the age of 64.  I miss him every day.

The afternoon summed up so well the wonder of Kevin Gregier as a teacher and the magic of Denver Academy as a place for learning.  Wonder and magic together provide enchanting elixirs to enliven our educational quandaries:

•Learning that is centered more on the varied needs of the student than in the confines of a curriculum.

•Teaching that is liberated so educators can bring their own whimsy to their subject matter.

•A commaraderie that goes beyond selfishness, looks to the betterment of everyone, and exhibits a genuine joy to be in the company of each other.

•An awareness of a spiritual transcendence that resides not only in the hearts and minds of students but is embedded in the very nature of education itself.

•Leadership that realizes life is messy and in a constant state of flux. They are not afraid to take a risk for the sake of the contemporary student or for the enhancement of a teacher's well-being.

•An extended community of parents who take an active role in sparking the perpetual potential of every child they come in contact with.

Thank you Denver Academy and all the places like you who provide an educational environment where wonder is taught and magic happens everyday.

What I'll say to graduates

I have the honor again this year of addressing the graduates of Front Range Community College in Colorado. When I spoke at their commencement last year I highlighted the resilient skills needed to navigate the tumultuous rapids of change.  Little did I know how prescient that was given the upheavals of the intervening year!

This year I am going to focus on the stimulus package of education.  Stress is everywhere.  Relationships are strained.  Systems are breaking down.  Nearly everyone is bewildered and deflated.  The time is ripe for graduates to enliven the world (and their lives) through the dynamics of a stimulating education. Here, briefly, is my outline of those dynamics:

Stars in our eyes: A stimulating education ignites a hopeful vision for the future

Mud on our hands: A stimulating education inspires a grateful service for community

Curiosity in our minds: A stimulating education exhibits an imaginative prowess for exploration

Love in our hearts: A stimulating education instills a willful sacrifice for others

The Star of our own show

 Since one of my favorite topics is emerging culture, my radar activates when I hear two psychiatrists, Joel and Ian Gold, calling a new psychosis for our YouTube society “The Truman Show” Delusion.  There seems to be a small but growing number of psychotic patients who describe their lives as mirroring the main character in the 1998 film “The Truman Show.” 

The character, Truman Burbank, leads a very ordinary existence in the suburbs, starting from the time he was in the womb, and is being filmed for a very popular documentary show that he is unaware of and that he cannot escape.  Everything in his life, from the small product placements of advertisers to his own intimate family affairs, is scripted and put in place for the voyeuristic fascination of the world.  All those around him (actors in the show) claim ignorance or avoidance when Truman begins to suspect something isn’t quite “right” with his reality.

For sufferers, the “Truman Show” delusion is so pervasive it involves the patients entire world, and everything real is unreal.  Truman Burbank lived in a world where everyone around him were actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose was to make him the focus of the world’s attention and add to the financial coffers of advertisers. When he discovers the ruse, he desperately and deliberately tries to escape its superficiality.

We live in a dramatically different media environment today than when that movie was released ten years ago.  There is an overwhelming influx of media pervasive technologies, with cameras and microphones everywhere.  Video sharing sites and video blogs enable hundreds of thousands of people around the world to see our lives unfold in real time.  With the advent of YouTube just four years ago, personal documentaries are some of the most popular posts on the world wide web.  The popular ones add needed advertising dollars to companies bottom lines.

Like Truman, one would think that the desire to escape all that mediated pervasiveness in our lives would be greater than ever.  I mean really, who would want all that public intrusion? Yet, if truth be told, I don’t think we want to escape at all. Deep down we want to be the star of our own Truman Show.  It makes the idea of an invited and welcomed delusion one worth significant exploration...

Nothing Like the Real Thing

A previous post I wrote highlighted the late 90's toy senstation, the Furby.  I referred to an article that mentioned the rapid technological transformations of the past few decades which have impacted the world views of children.  They didn't have any problem describing the Furby as an object that is neither animate or inanimate.  They put it in a new in-between category (that older generations have a hard time conceiving of) that was created to accomodate their technological world view.

However we categorize it though, in the end, the Furby is only just a toy and not a companion.  It can never replace the interactions we get from real puppies, bunnies, and cats.  Same can be said for nature.  There just is no technological substitute or simulation (now, anyway) for the deep pleasures that only a hike outside can provide. 

Consider a recent study be the University of Washington psychologist Peter H. Kahn, Jr. and colleagues.  Paul Bloom in the New York Times Magazine reports that the scientists put 50-inch high-definition televisions in the windowless office of faculty and staff members to provide a live view of a natural scene.  Though people liked this, health measurements regarding heart-rate recovery from stress revealed that HDTV's were shown to be worthless. No better than staring at a blank wall.  What did help with stress was giving people an actual glass window looking out upon actual greenery. 

So, I'm going to go outside.  A half-hour walk in the park will trump the best half-hour of "The Office" on TV anyday.

Remember that "creepy Furby"?

I can remember the Furby craze about 10 years ago.  Since I'm now considered an elite member of an older generation, I didn't really see the point.  But this article highlighted what a significant worldview upheaval this furry robotic creature really ushered in.
It again raises the question I've devoted my life to exploring: What is the world coming to?