Electric

One of the effects of living with electric information is that we habitually live in a state of information overload.  There's always more than you can cope with.

~ Marshall McLuhan

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I have found this to be really true lately.  There is so much on Facebook or in emails or on Twitter or on TV or on the scrolling thing across the bottom of the TV or on my phone or on the tablets and the computers.

I do try to plan times when I am disconnected from all of this.  It is really helpful.  What is interesting is that -- Wait.  Well, it's interesting to me.  It remains to be seen if it will be of interest to you.

What is interesting to me is that I feel more and more inclined to disconnect even when I am not in the midst of one of my planned disconnections.  I need to stay in touch on some issues, but do I?  Won't someone eventually let me know if there is something I should know?

They could write me a letter.  And would that delay really make a difference in terms of my involvement in whatever the issue of the day is? 

I don't know.

But here is another thought I think: There has always been more than we could cope with.  It's not just about the electronic stuff.  The world is an overstimulating place.

You have to step back.  And look at the pieces of it.  The bigness of it is too much.

I think that is part of the appeal of yelling, "Look!  Squirrel!"  It breaks the cycle and forces someone to focus on just the squirrel.

Also, it's hilarious when they look, whether there is a squirrel there or not.