Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Time for a Filter Change

"Chatty Kathy"
That was my very first nick name before I even knew I had a name!
Don't laugh ...
       I was born in the 60's
       Chatty Cathy was the name of a baby doll that everyone had to have in the 60's
       and I guess I liked to babble as a baby, I would talk and talk
              lots of sound, not much sense
(I'm sure my brother is laughing right now)

Cue the year 2012
     tweeting
     pinning
     blogging
     texting
     skyping
     streaming
     watching movies, Youtube, TV (what's that?)
and then there are those infamous status posts, likes, comments, links ......  ahhh!!!**

We live in an era in which we post every thought, every regret, every thing that ticks us off,
           we are told every opinion
                          and every mood
                               of every person on this blasted planet!**

The crazy part about this is
             I do pin, text, blog and tweet
             I do watch Youtube, movies, streaming events, and TV
             (born in the 60's remember?)

And you know ... I love my friends and family, I love knowing how they're doing
     how their babies are growing, and cooing and rolling
I appreciate when people let me know they're having a tough day or they need a friend
I do love being connected, hearing others' opinions and learning from other people's perspectives
I need people
But This is not about That

I'm afraid our "filters" are broken
Filters are what keep us from blurting out what we really feel at all times, to any one, any place
And those dang filters are in serious need of replacement, or cleaning or something.

Your filter is working when you start typing (texting), and then back space, back space, back space ...
          You start again, and then delete, delete, delete ...
You know how tempting it is to just press send or enter or post?!
DON"T DO IT!!!
Let's give those delete and back space buttons more air time.

It's like everyone has become an expert ...  It's like we all got a PhD in "smartness" all of a sudden
         What is often communicated with such seeming authority is often just passion
                  We feel it in our heart, or we just know it to be true ...
        (Careful! Those hearts of ours can really deceive us)
         What we claim to be a fact might just be a clip or song that went viral today
                   and because millions pressed like it must be ok
         What is written as right and normal might just be the voice of many,
                                       many who are wrong ??
We're looking for wisdom in culture,
in politics,
in music,
in entertainment
If we saw it on the internet then it must be true?  ... Really???
             
we speak, we emote, we criticize, we judge, we babble way too much
what we perceive as wisdom and truth might be just too much coffee ...
                                                                        I mean, not enough coffee,
                                                                        sleep deprivation, pizza at midnight ...

I'm afraid it's not gonna get better out there in cyberspace

So .... let's get out the hose and clean out that filter
         or maybe just go all out and get a brand new one

Then maybe there won't be so much babbling
            there won't be so much talking and talking
            less sound, more sense **

That's all ...
      I have to go clean my filter now


 **utilized the Delete and/or Backspace button