Yesterday a neighbor reminded me of an important lesson: to hear the voice of God we have to get very quiet and very alone.
It has not been that way for me lately. I am an information junkie. With my lap top computer connected wirelessly to the internet I can receive and send information all day any day. It is convenient.
Perhaps that convenience is part of my current problem. You see, there is a lot going on right now and I should be really focused on discerning how to accomplish the things ahead. Most days I find myself overwhelmed. So, when overwhelmed I escape. And with my computer and the world wide web at my finger tips I can lose myself in a game, book, videos, or countless other distractions right there. After these distractions I rarely find myself fulfilled. Rather, I am more often disappointed that I am even further behind.
Here is the place for discipline. Francis Bacon said
If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master
For me, my computer, TV or just mindless conversation can take over and monopolize my time. Even if I know there is something pressing I ought to do and really desire to do it, I often slip into time-wasting habits. Discipline -- teaching my self to do the right thing -- is so very important. When I get ready to go to a time-waster is when I am going to go to something that helps me tune in to that voice these distractions often tune out. Some things that help me tune in are
taking a stroll
writing notes
prayer and meditation
exercise
power nap
I'm not giving up my computer. No, it is the primary tool for me to get work done! But when I am drawn to use it for distractions rather than production it becomes my "master". So, I am tuning out the distractions of instant information and entertainment and tuning in to those practices that get me closer to the answers I need in this time of transition.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, distinguished military general and President of the United States, in the wake of World War II, presented a speech that rings ominously true today. In it he proposed the dangers that could occur if our nation relied on an intimate relationship between the government and the defense equipment industry. I cannot add to his words without taking away from their poignancy, so here I present section IV of his speech.
A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.
In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.
Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.
It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.
Saturdays are my sabbath. Somebody came up with the idea that people should take a break from work and rest on Saturdays. I think it's a great idea too many of us overlook in this hustle-bustle society. Okay, I know this audience never worries themselves with busy-ness, but some people do *wink.
With the computer and TV turned off, I spent much of my day outside my apartment savoring the wysteria across the walk. The solitude was wonderful. Princess (my Lhasa Apso) and I listened to birds, watched bees, and visited neighbors who passed by.
The most amazing part of the day was that wysteria. Oh, to bottle up that fragrance and share it with you all. Its blossoms were a soft sweetness that complimented the delicate purple flowers. Insects hurried about enjoying the nectar, surely returning to the university nearby with its honeybee boxes.
I need a day of rest. It inspires me with the simpler things. I revert to pen and paper to write out ideas and paint the natural world around me. I listen to the songs of the birds and the breeze in the trees. I am revived and ready to face another week.
I remember our first computer. It was a Tandy from Radio Shack. The year was 1990. It came with programs that sparked my creativity: a MIDI player / recorder, simple drawing program, word processor, and database. I spent hours on the machine using these programs to express my thoughts and learn new things. Drawing floor plans, typing, and listening to and making my own MIDI files was fun.
Up to the nineties, most people used a typewriter to publish their words, instruments to perform music and paper and pen to draw. There was an organic relationship between the creator and his work. Our personality, mistakes and diligence were all reflected in what we made.
Mankind has used tools since our beginnings. We mixed pigment in out mouths and spat on walls to produce vivid imagery. We chipped away at stone to create figures of the world around us. We beat against objects to produce tones and rhythms. Over time our tools became more complex and communicated more succinctly our thoughts.
We entered the computer age with enthusiasm. But the first computers, while functional, were limited. They did not reflect the true range of expression of the creator of the piece. Music was tonal and synthesized; lines and textures were limited by the included features of the machine, the printer, and the monitor; printed material was generic and difficult to format on those line-feed printers.
The machines matured as we pushed them to their limits and beyond. They housed games we could play, collected and stored our music, and connected us across distance and time. Typographers added stylistic fonts and engineers teamed with designers to build hardware and software that enabled the machines to mimic our own range of expression. In many ways, the computer caught up with our own physical methods of expression.
Now the computer has surpassed our ability of physical communication. Movie makers are masters of using computers to express concepts beyond our physical world. Musicians use computer technology to clean up and fill in voices within their productions. Writers communicate ideas across language and media with one publication of their work.
I'm hooked on http://books.google.com because it offers tons of books online.
Several of them are just parts, but I can filter out those and read entire books online. Now, these aren't just .txt versions. They're actually scanned books!
So, tired of Desperate Housewives or missing Dancing with the Stars?
Hit this website and start reading from your computer for free.
Over the years I've wrestled with the best desktop wallpapers. Some I've made for myself, some downloaded or the Windows default images, at times I've just gone with no wallpaper.
Lately I've enjoyed having the work of Claude Monet as my wallpaper. Monet was a nineteenth-century impressionist painter who worked to recreate the way light reflects off colors and surfaces. His work is detailed and takes time to absorb and appreciate. That's why I've enjoyed using the images provided at profend.com the past two months.
With a monthly calendar and well-sized image, the desktop backgrounds are tasteful, convenient, and -- when I take time to appreciate it -- thought-provoking.
Check them out for yourself. While there, visit the Wikipedia link about Monet and the Impressionist movement.
