World Spinning

I read a quote that the world has changed more in the past 12 years ago than in the previous 100 years. I believe it.

When Annika was born over 15 years ago, original episodes of "Friends" were still on the air. We watched network TV. Will and I did not own a cell phone. We did not own a laptop; if we wanted access to the Internet, we went upstairs to our desktop computer in the spare bedroom and logged in. I worked long hours in my job as a CPA, but there was no expectation that people would reach me when I was not working. To keep in touch, I called people on the telephone, on a landline, cognizant of the hours that long-distance was cheapest. If I went for a walk or a run, I would later retrace my steps with the car to approximate the distance of my route. I used an old-fashioned alarm clock to awaken. Any recipes that we cooked were from a cookbook or clipped from the newspaper.

It is natural to be mindful of changes and feel that the world is spinning out of control. But I think of the time when Annika was a baby and it truly feels like a different dimension. And I think this is why parenting and living and breathing feel so difficult now - because we are all engaged in a Brave New World with no precedent and no guidance.

I love all the advancements in technology and social networking and online availability and interconnection that have occurred in the last decade and a half. But I think sometimes the ability to be mindful, present, living in the moment has diminished. So this week, my challenge is not to renounce progress and change, but to live deeper, slow, more intentionally. To keep moving forward - but cognizant of all we have lost in the process. To party like it is 2004. Be well, friends.