Where did all the intimacy go?

I am doing lots of re-evaluating of life right now and i have to say that i am ashamed of myself. the priorities that i have let take over, the excuses i have made for letting things go, all of them are done with some sort of technology excuse.

all the things we are involved in, all the technologies that seemingly link us, in reality they push us all farther apart. At the end of the day we continually forget that it is people that matter. not twitter, google, linked in, text messages or even... dare i say it... facebook. Even this somewhat heartfelt message i am trying to get out was way too many characters to add in a facebook status update.

How have we gotten to a point where reading a tweet or seeing a status update passes for contact?

in a society that is constantly bemoaning the increasing speed of our lives, and lamenting the loss of the small everyday things we had in our youth, or hear about from our parents like friendly gatherings, dinner parties, or just having drinks.

I am a reasonably social person, but i have been in a job for 3.5 years working with lots of people and have never once been invited to (or done any inviting to) any social gathering of any sort that was not a company function. what is wrong with me? have i been so unapproachable or distant that nobody ever wanted to invite me and my lovely wife anywhere? or is there something that is slowly changing within all of us where we feel that this is the norm.

Roxanne and i were talking the other day about the fact that we have lived where we live for about 5 years and we have no social connections. oh sure we have lots of acquaintances, through preschools and such, but we have never made any connections. And when we get a night out, half the time we waste it in a movie theatre sitting beside each other staring at a larger version of our television. Oh My God!!! how anti social is that? ok, an occasional movie is fun, but it seems that we are bombarded with and made to feel that if we do not see the latest (lets be honest...) really crappy flick, that something is wrong with us. And the DVR/TIVO, great lifesaver right... not even close. i only just figured out how bad it is. instead of taking the time to meet for a "date" at a certain time to watch the TV and then have some intervals to grab something else, or even talk... we now are able to park our ever increasing keisters in front of the tube and sit there for 3 solid hours with no breaks (just zip past those commercials) of a show that in reality we would have stopped watching LONG ago.

Now don't get me wrong, i take full responsibility for not making friends. it is a two way street and i know that making friends and increasing a social circle takes work. and i recognize that we have fallen down at it. When the neighbor has a Bunko party (wow does it sound like a blast) we are bummed out that we were not invited... yet i have never done one darn thing to try to snag an invitation. So i cannot do a blanket blaming of technology. i am a part of the equation. But lets be honest, our reliance on technology and the pressure to make even more use of it is not helping one bit.

Lets all try a little less technology. ignore your cell phone/blackberry/iphone at night. lets try to write a LETTER this holiday season. and lets all call somebody we have not talked to in a while. if i want my family to have the warm loving experience i did growing up, i have to make it so. and just like if i want my kids to grow up exercising and being outdoors, i have to lead by example. Same with my social interactions. So kids... things change today!

People matter. contact is done by calling, maybe even writing a letter. (i said letter, not an email or a text) as of now, i am resolving to be better, to show people that they matter. And i am starting by posting this blog entry, and then calling my nana!

And yes, i do get the irony of writing this in a blog! maybe video for the next one...

Peace out! (ok, that was a joke)