Square-eyed with open ears and a voice that won’t be silenced

The past few days have seen me chair-ridden, glaring into the computer screen, multi-tasking between various projects, getting distracted by Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and occasionally getting up for food and the thing you do after you’ve had too much to drink. (Go to the bathroom that is, not puke).

Hence I look forward to my little outing tomorrow, having brunch/lunch (possibly both) with a friend who makes me laugh until I cry and with whom I’m comfortable venting about life’s trials and tribulations. For the most part, I’m the listener, which I’m happy to be, but conversation becomes even more exciting when I have the chance to give my two cents worth. Five cents rather, I need to start giving myself more credit

I really do enjoy talking with others (albeit working in retail has caused my reluctance in engaging with certain types of people in certain circumstances) and acknowledge that conversation plays a big part in my personal-social-spiritual-psychological growth. There are people I’ve conversed with who are so fascinating, others inspiring, yet many patronizing and arrogant and quite often, you get the boring ones too. I learn from them all.

My stronger-than-normal attachment to my macbook these past couple of days has deprived me of a good dosage of face-to-face conversation, leading me to think of the physical, mental and psychosocial ramifications of being too absorbed in technology and inhuman objects. Obviously as a communications graduate, I won’t be arguing against the advantages of digital technologies and new media in enhancing ‘cyber’ conversation with people near and beyond, but it does pain me to think that people now communicate much less in person, excusable where distance is concerned, but not so for preference.

Lately I have become a major email geek, verified by my little sister’s remark the other day, “All you do is sleep, eat and email,” and it scares me to think that my abilities to converse in person are being compromised because of this electronic means of communication. Indeed I’m thankful that my writing skills are being put to use and improved upon, but I’d never ever ever want to lose my voice. Literally or metaphorically speaking.

A philosopher could argue that technology is animate and human, so could I in fact, but the pleasures I receive from this little machine I am using now could never replace the deep, genuine warmth which exudes from those I love and finds its place inside my heart. *Awww* Haha.

I am grateful for the amazing things that new technologies can help us achieve, if only we choose to use them in coherence with good values and right judgment. While I may be sitting in front of this screen square-eyed for many more times to come, I will forever cherish the moments where I can truly converse with another, face-to-face, mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart.