Perceptions + Quotes + Reality = A to Z Challenge
My husband says I’m addicted to the computer specifically e-mail as well as Facebook. Hah! I habitually plead the fifth on that one!
Although unbeknownst to him, I do frequently ponder his suggestion since I take great pleasure in glancing at e-mail, reading comments in response to my blog, examining text messages and yes, going on Facebook!
So in delving further into this thought pattern, I recognize it’s not the technology I’m drawn to but rather the connections with people; that’s where the contentment derives.
As a little girl I sought out and wrote to pen pals from the backs of Teen magazines. I inscribed in depth letters to friends I’d met through church camp. I was a loyal individual exchanging letters. I would then wait anxiously for the mailbox to offer a return swap.
Since I was an alone and lonely child I poured my heart out onto paper to be cleansed; this gave a home to the words in my head and the thoughts in my heart. The spilled contents had a dwelling to disband and to disperse. However, most notably was the validation of my presence. With each arrival message, there seemingly was a display to make note of my value to the world -or at least a small part of it.
I’ve deliberated over my husband’s implication and as I’ve aged I grasp the idea that not much has changed; pen and paper correspondence has evolved into e-mails, texts, comments and ‘likes’ at the push of buttons continuing to acknowledge my presence on Earth....but I'm still pleading the fifth!
“Only through our connectedness to others can we really know and enhance the self. And only through working on the self can we begin to enhance our connectedness to others.”
- Harriet Goldhor Lerner
