It's All A Big Balancing Act

Not surprising, to me at least, it's been almost five months since I last posted anything here. It's not that there hasn't been anything to talk about, nor that there hasn't been time to write, though in all honesty, life is pretty busy for a family of five; But here I am again, at the urging of my oldest daughter...

Are these electrons good for you?
I'm mulling over a new theory, it might go something like this: Every household can tolerate only a certain amount of technology, or more accurately, a certain amount of time spent with technology. How much there is and who gets to use it is determined by the person who least likes, or most dislikes, technology. In my household, the three youngest members, all teenagers, get most of the technology time tolerated by our "resident technology timekeeper", who shall remain nameless (in the interest of not pointing any fingers at her). While it's not explicit, I am relegated to the position of the stereotypical leftovers guy. I get those odd moments, crumbs if you will, of time no one else has used up or wants. You know, those random and rare times when I can watch (without feeling guilty of somehow depriving someone else) a PBS educational program, or when I can actually sit at a keyboard and think, and perhaps write. There's more than a little potential here for creating a state of imbalance for all concerned. One of my big problems is that I'm interested in and curious about many, many things. The longer I live, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I discover there is to learn. There are so many ways to learn today, avenues that didn't exist in the not-too-distant past, like DVD's and podcasts, and, of course, the fastest way to get the most information is the Internet. I'm a hands-on guy, so holding and reading a book or performing a task is my preferred method of learning, but that isn't so for everyone. There's more to the equation than potentially spending too much time with electronic devices; for some people, the root of their fear of others' use of technology is not so much the time used as what specifically is happening during that time. Not everything available on the Internet is good, and therefore any time spent online has the potential to expose us to things we may not want to be exposed to; Now, anyone who has taken the time to explore the Internet, even a little, realizes that it's easy to bypass those things you don't want to access...that is, for adults who have the capacity to quickly discern whether they want to be there or not. Not so easy for children to figure out though. I could go on and on about children and media/technology in general, but I'll save that for another time. For now, suffice it to say that we, as adults, and particularly those of us who are parents, have a responsibility to protect our children from any and all things that may harm them. We all have different ways of trying to achieve that. There is no absolutely correct and only way. Technology is a double-edged sword, it may be both the best thing that ever happened to mankind and the worst. Until children have fully developed emotionally, and that could mean around 21 years old, we have to help them with judgment.

So maybe what we're really talking about here is time
Too much of anything is probably not good for you. We have to achieve a balance in all we do. It's the whole Yin-Yang, black-white, hot-cold, etc. thing. There's only so much time available to us. We have to work, but we should also play. We need stimulation of some sort, we also need quiet time. Several years ago, I had the privilege of taking Aikido for a short time. Everything we did in that class we did first on one side and then the other, on the right and on the left, balanced. I remember how good it felt, how much that translated into every other aspect of my life. It's something I try to incorporate in my life now, though not very successfully most of the time, just ask my family. I've tried to pass on to my children the importance of looking at all sides of the issues they may face, to try to reach a fair and equitable solution, to not jump on the bandwagon especially if that means applying negative criticism, because conventional wisdom is often not all that accurate. Yes, I shy away from controversial positions, it's how I am. I just don't think there's enough time to argue over things that probably aren't really that important in the big scheme of things. But then again, who am I to know what is truly important...

Weather
We've gotten quite a bit of rain lately, which is good for the pond and the brooks around here. It's cloudy today and on the cool side, but it's supposed to be nice tomorrow. According to the computer it's 66 F. Lori's flower garden is looking great at the moment, lots in bloom and very lush. If I can figure out how to add photos, I'll try to add one of the flower garden.