by Rob Hueniken on Sunday, July 18, 2010
Perhaps the most apparent feature of our society is our use of technology. Whether it is cell phones, high def TV, MRI scanners or air bags, technology surrounds us and is embedded into our lives. Everywhere you go you see people using devices — if there's a gizmo then people are using it.
There is, of course, money to be made creating and using technology, and jobs and benefits for many people.
There are busy and industrious people inventing devices, refining them, and bringing them to market. There are legions of truckers and sales people providing them to us, and people helping us figure out how to use our many gadgets and tools.
At the back-end, there is a service and support industry, and at the tail-end there are recyclers, dust bins, and growing piles in the corners of our basements and drawers.
It would be easy to imagine that our technology has a life of its own — being born, growing, fitting in, working with others, having occasional health problems, and finding that people don't call on them as often as they'd like.
Technology is vital to many aspects of every day, and we have threaded it deeply through our lives.
But at its core, our use of technology is about more than money and far more than our own individual use of gadgets.
Technology is about life and community. Our tools are the extra means we use to keep us safe, healthy, and together. Our tools are the means for sharing our lives and reducing the distances and risks. Our tools are how we, as family and friends, get to expand our reach beyond our fingertips and to widen our personal and shared horizons.
The purpose of technology is community.
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by Rob Hueniken on Thursday, January 7, 2010
Our world depends on a lot of people getting things done. We all have our roles and our tasks, and every day has more than enough to do.
And swirling through our days are people. Some of them we see every day, like those we work with. Some people we only see for a minute, like those who help us in checkout lines or at a restaurant. Some we walk by and never share a word with.
But all of the people in our days are, in fact, real and caring people. And all of them, in some way, are sharing their lives with you.
We cannot know every person, or spend all of our days thanking each other.
But we can appreciate people, and let them know.
Showing appreciation usually starts with a smile or a greeting — letting the other person know we see them — and ends with thanking them.
What happens after that comes naturally. When people feel appreciated they are encouraged and they feel welcome. Their eyes sparkle a bit more, and they can handle tough moments a little more easily. They try hard and the work day goes more easily. They feel they are part of a special team — a loosely knit community of people who recognize the efforts of those around us, and who acknowledge that personally.
You like it when other people appreciate your efforts. Share the joy. Thank someone — many someones — every day.
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by Rob Hueniken on Thursday, November 5, 2009
Taylor Swift is a talented and insightful musician
In a recent song by Taylor Swift, a young woman laments that her guy-friend cannot see that she would make a great girlfriend.
The song, titled “You Belong with Me“, is beautifully written, with a simple, down home beginning and a strong, soaring finale.
Listening to the song it is easy to ask, “Why is this guy so blind to what is right in front of him?”
As the singer narrates, the young man is attracted — as our society encourages — to a different woman, a fancier woman, who wears short skirts and high heels. The downside? His current girlfriend doesn’t get his sense of humor, like his music, or have a clue what his story really is.
Is this situation a surprise to anyone?
In an age where fashion and entertainment are key elements of society, many people fall prey to the Emperor’s new clothes. Both men and women are besieged with images of glamor and persistent promises of happiness through ownership and how we look. We are told, repeatedly and every day, what’s in right now and what to buy to be cool.
But as most people learn, pursuing what is cool is an endlessly moving target — achieved for brief shiny moments — and driven largely by companies intent on slimming our wallets as they sculpt our look. Fashion can be fun, but it can mask who we really are, and keep us from what might really make us happy.
In Taylor’s song, the young woman wishes her friend would see how she is a better match for him, but she does not directly tell him. She is exasperated by his failure to see her true heart and value, but is either too shy or too proud to tell him.
This is an unfortunate side-effect of a culture encouraged to surpass and achieve more — where honesty and humility are valued, but less than we deserve.
[Note: In the music video for the song, the song's two characters do communicate better, passing "text" messages by writing on pads of paper.]
“You Belong with Me” is a wake-up call about valuing the people in our lives, and a reminder for all of us — to know and show our own hearts — to let our real self show through the fashion and possessions.
If every last shred of designer-wear were to disappear from Earth, we might look a little less fancy, but we would more clearly know and show ourselves.
It is the heart of each person that we need to recognize and care about.
Know your heart. Show your heart.
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