The television came to life as he sunk down into his lazy boy recliner.  It had been another long day at the office.  He was happy to have a few hours to unwind before it was just a wake up and he was back to the grind.  Twenty-two dead in Iraq today from curbside bombing, said CNN. The channel changed.  Some town called Greensburg had been completely destroyed by tornados.  The channel changed again.  Oprah reruns told the story of a family torn apart by teen murders.  The channel changed yet again.  This time it was the local news talking about hydrogen cars.  At least this wasn’t so depressing he thought as he dropped the remote and tore into his Hungry Man TV dinner.

Okay, so I know I painted a pretty bleak day, but how often does something like the above happen?  What am I referring too?  How often do we hear stories of tragic loss and consequence, only to change the channel or flip the station, never feeling a thing.  We are assaulted on a daily basis by the media with stories of gloom and doom to the extent that we have become numb to them.  Comments such as, “well that sort of thing would never happen here” or “it’s not any one I know” are all too common, and that’s actually really sad when you think about.

We are so overwhelmed with these kinds of stories that not only do we become numb to them, but we also start to become numb in general.  I’m talking about being numb in general to feeling, even feelings of happiness.

Don’t think so?  Well let’s be honest here, at least with yourself.  Have you ever had someone tell you they feel really bad for you or they’re really happy for you?  Have you ever really listened as they said it and “felt” what they were saying, only to hear the emptiness in their voice?  The hollow tones of words said based on expectation or common courtesy?  Have you ever been the one speaking?  I’ll be honest, I know I have done both.  Sometimes on a daily basis, it’s so common place.

“Oh your Aunt just passed, I’m so sorry to hear that.” “Ah you’re son just graduated from kindergarten, that’s great!”  Seriously, how many times have you said and or heard similar sayings tossed about that were void of emotion or anything more than a false pretense of caring?

I don’t want to come off as bitter, I’m not.  I’m guilty of this myself.  I understand why its happening -iIt makes sense to me.  If we were to truly experience all of these emotions on a daily basis as we are hit by them via the media, co-workers, and so forth well, we might never get out of bed in the morning.  To keep getting up each day and taking care of business, we block out the feeling aspects of life that might other wise knock us down momentarily.

Lets face it, we live in a what have have you done for me now, minute attention span, instant-gratification-seeking culture.  There isn’t time for feeling, save for that short term jolt from whatever gratification we were seeking this moment.  Then there is the low and empty feeling until we see the next shiny babble that captures our ever decreasing attention span.

But what can we do about it?  How do we change this and get away from becoming an unfeeling society?  I don’t know, there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer, but I have hope… And I believe the universe creates balance whether we flow with it or are forced too.

I’m inspired and hopeful when I see sites like our very own being created, and any other center, periodical, or event that fosters higher thinking and awareness for the mass consciousness that currently inhabits this world.

I see possibilities with the ever increasing costs of oil and gasoline - car pooling becomes necessity.  Staying in instead of going out becomes the norm.  Maybe real conversations and listening will be forced to happen?  Family ties might even be strengthed.  Green Technology becomes more then a buzzword.  People come together and work towards a common goal of solving the worlds energy problems and it makes for a healthier world too.  Alas, I’m just a dreamer, but isn’t that how all good things start?

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