pH for the Soul

I've been studying up on pH in our bodies and ordered a couple of books. It's fascinating to think about the relationship between pH and good health and how foods can help overall health, strength, endurance and longevity.

Did you happen to catch Stephen Colbert last week when he interviewed Nicholas Carr about his new book The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains. (??) It is one of a body of emerging works about the molecular changes that occur in our brains by being bombarded by a vast amount of superficial details. It will be interesting to read how he proves the thesis that prolonged exposure to such fast-paced technology damages our long-term cognitive, social and introspective brain functions.

I am a cautious fan of technology but mostly because of the obvious erosion of our communication skills -- some call it evolving, or co-evolving, but I am more worried than that. Drive down any street or go into any home and you will see evidence of the WoO (World of One): eyes glued to a phone screen or laptop, texting and walking, texting and driving, texting in the shower and at the holiday table and in class, stepping off curbs without looking up, oblivious to real life and missing it entirely.

You know the first Golden Rule of communication is to give your full attention to who is with you and never make them wait for someone who isn't there. And until recently that's how it was: we spent time with people who were with us, did things with them, enjoyed their company. Not now. Technology has finally found a way to compete with real life by making it cheap and portable and addicting.

It goes everywhere with us. At a family bbq after a while people start disappearing, into the front yard or kitchen or garage, and they're texting or talking to people they see all the time. Seriously? Can't it wait for just for one day so we have time together? 

It is not fun to sit at a table while someone carries on a conversation with somebody else who didn't spend the time and effort to come visit in person. We are all guilty of that from time to time but I think I am finally FINALLY getting the point. It's rude. It's inconsiderate. It's unnecessary. And the person you have come to spend time with withdraws into the World of One. Again.

It feels like good, old fashioned communication is pH for the soul. In the same way it balances the body, knowing each other's laughter and re-telling family stories keeps our relationships strong and enduring. Taking pictures together because we celebrate life together fights off the disease of growing apart. Listening and caring about each other helps us to grow old together, so we never have to stand at the end of the road utterly alone and wondering where everybody went.

Life comes in loud and clear when you log off. I prefer it that way. (Except for the blog thing which I'm crazy about!)