At Thanksgiving dinner what will you bring to the table? Will you have your cell phone in your pocket? Will you have one eye on the television? Are you going to check your Facebook after dinner?
I have been guilty of answering my cell phone at dinner and giving the excuse "I've been waiting for this call". What is more important? The person in front of you or the one coming through a satellite? It seems to be a simple decision but it is not; our behavior has become that we are more connected with the digital world than the real world.
For a few hours, disconnect and put aside that need to be "on top of things"; be present with the people you love and enjoy the moments that the sound of a voice, the touch of a hand, the warmth of a hug can bring.
We are human and we need to be human, not a hub for electronic gadgets. So unplug for a while and savor the moments powered only by love and gratitude.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.
Stillness Part One
Image: Ophelia Chong / Delicious
For a few hours, disconnect and put aside that need to be "on top of things"; be present with the people you love and enjoy the moments that the sound of a voice, the touch of a hand, the warmth of a hug can bring.
We are human and we need to be human, not a hub for electronic gadgets. So unplug for a while and savor the moments powered only by love and gratitude.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.
Stillness Part One
Image: Ophelia Chong / Delicious
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I'm going to be cooking, and cleaning up... and then socializing...
I expect to be wiped out when I get home, so I'll probably not check in on the net (and will have the cell OFF) till Friday morning.
hi Trin!
I will be cooking, cleaning, cleaning, and then pass out on the floor in front of the fireplace. Happy Thanksgiving and all the best to you and your family (and Megumi!!!!)
love,
ophelia
Oh dear - I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a techno-apologist again! If I had a nickel for very time I had to spend more than 5 minutes of face time over the years with Uncle Andy in Burbank (may he rest in peace!) rather than have an extended holiday chat on the phone with my lovely little sister and her kids in NY, I'd - well - I'd be able to afford that trip back east to see them!
Technology is only as good as its users and can even be considered a blessing when it helps us connect with the ones we love from afar - 'course, not AT dinner, for Pete's sake! (unless it's to avoid the likes of Uncle Andy).
btw - my favorite cousin in New Jersey LOVED Uncle Andy and went out of her way to call him each holiday - go figure...
Happy Thanksgiving, O - don't get too stuffy!
xox
amp
Dear Anna Marie,
If we could only barter and trade the time spent, we would not be who we are now. Whether we would be better or worse off, who knows? But the time we spend now should be well spent. :O) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Amp.
Love, Ophelia
Could you imagine ('cause you KNOW it exists) the family sitting around the Thanksgiving table, everyone wearing that annoying Bluetooth earpiece, having random conversations through the ether while not speaking with those at the table except the occasional nudge to pass the gravy. Yikes.
I'll be cooking for the extended family in my tiny condo. For some strange reason, that makes me happy. These are people I have few issues with at this point and I love spending time with them, so things will be decidedly un-tech. And pro-laughter.
I think I'll give the ol' iPhone a rest for the day, but I may have to play a little Facebook Scrabble once everyone has left.
Have a great Thanksgiving, Ophelia~
That sounds like the best Thanksgiving. :O) Maybe we should have a box to put all the cell phones in at the door, just like in Westerns where you would have to hang your gun at the saloon door.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Mike. :O) ophelia
Mmmm hmmm...am liking the idea of no cell phones at the Turkey Feast. We just ate as a family and my daughter kept checking her phone and ya know what? It was annoying and a distraction for us all. I personally, feel a real sense of freedom when I am unencumbered by technology.
Then it has its way with me; as I begin to miss the phone/laptop and it slowly wends its way into becoming a nagging feeling, then an excuse as a "simple curiosity" to check out something, sooooooo important that I may have missed!(For me that would be Huffpost--I am an addict, I confess)
Nice piece!
Happy Turker lurkeys!
Tracy
Those are the three Graces of our times, they just all happen to be electronic......just like the Graces in your illustration, they are all diconnected, no eye contact, no emotions, yet they are close together. Sad!
My mother threatened my life well before dinner. So I shut down the computer and ignored the phone. Glad I did.
Dear RPM,
We had a no cell zone last night, and I could hear my cell ringing. And I was bad, I actually answered it, and it was my friend wishing me a happy thanksgiving. So bad and good. I did turn it off after that. :O) Happy Post Thanksgiving!!! :O) Ophelia
Dear Luis,
Interesting insight. I never looked at it that way, thank you for that, you have given it more meaning for me. Happy Thanksgiving! :O) ophelia