Over the last few months something has come to my attention that has slowly revealed itself in a few different forms. Being entertained by “what is happening today” gets boring really fast and finding what your own personal interests are can be increasingly difficult if you are. I suppose this needs a little bit of background.
Being entertained by today?
The world continues to shrink due to the speed at which information is broadcast worldwide. This makes it really easy to tap yourself into pretty much whatever type of information you want and soak it all in. However, regardless of how small the world is perceived to be because of technological and information distribution advancement – the world is still huge. The amount of information found on the Internet is increasing at an immeasurable rate. In other words; you will never be able to keep up.
Let’s say for example that you are interested in space. By now you probably know that I have a modest amount of interest in space that continues to grow. The amount of information on the Internet about space is staggering. I can imagine a kid walking into a library years ago and pulling an entire section of books off the shelf dealing with space and being overwhelmed with the amount of information he has to catch up on. Even with modern day tools to help us find exactly what we’re looking for, this feeling remains very much the same for me. But this is a good thing – the bad thing would be to try to “keep up-to-the-day” on a particular subject globally, since it proves to be near impossible to do unless you are a researcher by trade.
Call it information overload. But there are ways to combat this. Be specific in what you are looking for and the amount of information on the specific thing can be whittled down into something manageable. Do not “tap your brain” into the Internet and hope that you have the time, or the ability, to weed through the right, the wrong, the bad, and the good. Eventually the cream will rise to the top.
Being yourself?
More specifically; finding out what your personal interests are. I get the whole “social web” thing that allows us to monitor hundreds if not thousands of topics or people in various ways. It allows us to interact with people who have similar interests than us regardless of geography, economic situation, or language. I completely agree that the Web is a cool place.
But have you ever found yourself being a follower of everything? I touched on this in “Taking advantage of the things you already own”, where people want the latest and greatest before they even know how to use what they already have. I’ve been guilty of this. But there is also the idea of the quantity of “things” you have too. Or the quantity of the interests you supposedly have. Do you have 1,000 hobbies? Or, perhaps you just have 1 but it changes every single day before you have a chance to fully explore the hobby you did yesterday? I think it is good to have a few hobbies, this way you can pick what you want to do today based on your mood – but having too many can lead you to never fully exploring any of them.
Where did all of this stem from?
Hopefully if you read this you are able to understand what I am trying to say and maybe you can even relate. I’m definitely not the best writer and I seem to leave stuff out pretty consistently so I hope I was able to at least make a little sense.
Where did this all come from? A few months back I was notified that my Flickr account was going to expire. It got me to thinking about whether or not I use Flickr to its fullest potential, and whether or not I could simply live with the free-account for what I actually do use it for. A few days later I got an email from Microsoft about my Xbox Live account expiring. I looked at the pile of dust on my Xbox and decided that I would not renew that either. I don’t want to be forced into using something because I’m paying for it. Then I looked at my telescope and watercolor paints collecting dust. Realizing I’d much rather use them than the Xbox. I spent some time outside collecting fossils (I used to spend the majority of my life outdoors and now it is the opposite) and I really wanted to start to find out what my “real world” interests were again. It used to be mostly natural things. The woods, animals, plants, dirt, anything outside. Then it completely switched where I spent over 10 years almost completely indoors learning how to do what it is I do now – but I believe there to be a balance and I am definitely not striking it. Call it my resolution for 2007 or just a personal goal – I want to balance things.
I was talking to my friend Dave O. the other day and he feels very much the same as I do. I’m guessing that we’re not alone. He was commenting to me how much he enjoyed playing games with his son, or just “petting the dog and staring at the wall”. I couldn’t agree more. I’m looking forward to this new challenge – and it will be a challenge. I’d like to start spending nearly the same amount of time pursuing real world personal interests as I do online ones.
The World only looks like it is shrinking when you look at it through a monitor.
[tags]personal, thoughts, entertainment, hobbies, flickr, xbox, nature, space, telescope, internet, web, thinking[/tags]
[slug]entertain-yourself[/slug]
9 Comments
Dave O has some seriously cool hobbies. Petting his dog and staring at the wall.
=) Seriously though, it’s really cool that you (and Dave) are finding balance in this seemingly digital world.
I find that the silly actions of other to be entertaining. I manage a printing plant for the government in Milford, NH and have managed others for the last 21 years since I was 16, people can be funny.
I work overnight from 4P to 4A M-Th, when I get home it is still quite dark, I love to lay down in the grass and spend a half hour or so looking at the stars, what a beautiful thing we were blessed with, and a shooting star still makes my heart race.
Hey Colin, not sure how I got into this site, you look exactly like my 17 year old son, his name also happens to be Colin, and he lives in Glasgow Scotland. What a SMALL world we live in.
Peace, and be well
Liam
I’m really glad you wrote this.
I had been saying these same things to my husband as 2006 wound down. One of my goals for ‘06 was to not have every minute scheduled and all over the place, we did managed to accomplish that. Over this past summer I got so overwhelmed by the RSS feed counts and trying to keep up. Trying to stay on top of news and latest technologies.
We got rid of cable in ‘06, I don’t miss it. It contributed to making it so easy to get outside over the summer. I’m hoping for 2007 to reconnect with the part of my life that was not attached to a computer.
All the best for 2007 and getting outdoors and finding balance.
Daniel: Thanks!
Liam: A small world indeed. And you are right, people can be funny. I don’t want this note to sound as if I am saying that I’m not finding the Internet, or media in general, entertaining – because it is for sure. But perhaps my feeling of need to be as plugged in as I currently am is starting to fade. Thanks for commenting.
Diana: Thanks for stopping by. I too had the same resolve in early of ‘06 and managed to accomplish it, in my opinion. But there is always room to do better.
I have had a similar plugged in few years and my plugging back into the ‘real world’ stated last year by going freelance – some wouldn’t see that as balancing but it has oddly resulted in less work (I was juggling freelance / projects / full time work). Since getting another dog it’s also forced me to take time out everyday as he needs training being a puppy – unlike our other one who at 2 years came to us a few years ago fully trained.
A few years before that we did a 1/2 attempt at a balance back by moving from the city to the countryside. It took a while to adjust to the slower pace and I think it was only last year I started to notice seasons and nature again. I grew up in the countryside and didn’t realise I actually missed it.
It’s a hard balance to do though and one I am sure I will swing from one way to the other through out my life. For my job I have to keep up to date but for my sanity there has to be something not plugged in.
Well I am certainly far from being an ‘Uber Geek’ and just getting to learn how to blog etc. and I must admit that lately I am finding myself more in front of the PC at home, and at the plant I manage. I remember telling my ex, that I would NEVER fall prey to using the internet vs. daily interaction with my employees and colleagues, but I feel I have, and it’s not a bad thing.
……….and if you and Eliza like Chianti, BANFI!!!! it in my eyes is the best thus far.
Be Well
Liam
Colin, I’d say what you write here reflects quite a bit of wisdom. It’s like part of you is at the front lines chopping down all the trees in the daily routine of life, All you see are the daily trees in front of you. But part of you is being careful to climb to the top of the highest tree now and again to be sure you have not veered off into the wrong forest. That’s the way to go.
To summarize your above as I see it, it is about balancing life, especially about how connected and plugged in to the high tech world of internet / telecommunications and entertainment we need to be. About finding what really interests you and following that. Not just following all the hype. Part of it is about simplifying and getting in touch with nature more.
Colin, when I saw that you were going to let your flickr pro account lapse, I was a bit shocked. Because flickr and photography have been pretty much my number 1 hobby for the past year and I for one, couldn’t imagine being without my pro account, And I don’t want to lose another person from the community. But now I understand why you are letting it go. But funny, it is not like you let it go easily, it seems to be with difficulty that you let it go, but at least you did. You are so right to NOT be forced into entertainment that you don’t really use fully.
Here’s a few bits on how it works for me. I don’t have television period, no cable or tv whatsoever. But I love my mac and high-speed connection and gizmos like cell phone, ipod, Nikon d50 dSLR, etc.
Four times in the past year I backpacked for multiple nights in the very lonely, remote, steep, rough, snowy terrain, in the high mountains of Baja. And a 5th trip boat camping/ kayaking of a remote island in southern Baja. Family wants me to travel to Beijing China with them next month, I feel like I should take advantage of the opportunity, but I can’t generate motivation to go to a big, dirty, confusing, expensive city, even if it is culturally exotic China. I’d just rather be roughing it in nature on my vacations, not spending money endlessly in some over-populated metropolis.
So those are some ways I am finding a decent balance in my life, for whatever that might be worth to others.
Colin, what you write about above also speaks about priorities in life, making choices on how and where to spend our time and energy. The Ancient king Solomon of Israel has a lesson for us in this regard. In the bible book of Ecclesiastes, he writes about how he pursued endless interests in every affair and activity and possible human lifestyle and desire, but the ultimate conclusion he came up with, of what really matters, (which I believe you know) he stated at Ecclesiastes 12:13 (look it up if you don’t know it.) I have learned, and I’m convinced of the wisdom of this, through my own experience.
So true balance means that if you put God first that is all that really matters, the other things will fall into place. Would I rather be flickring and Photographing and mountain climbing than doing worship to God? -reading the bible and going to meetings? Many times yes. Do I neglect those things at time? Yes. But I strive to keep this right balance, for all the right reasons. Solomon also stated just before his grand conclusion on the ultimate search for wisdom: “…take a warning, to the making of many books [internet, info, media] there is no end, and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.” A reminder of the limits to the ‘happiness’ we get from endless information produced by mankind.
In writing this, I felt some doubts because of the unpopularity of including ‘bible wisdom’ in a forum like this, as if people don’t want to hear that kind of stuff. But I think it fits EXACTLY with your topic of simplifying, unplugging, prioritizing, focussing in on what really matters and what will make you happy. So I think it is appropriate.
Thank you for considering my 2¢ worth.
Aloha Colin! It’s a new year and for me that has historically been a time to “get myself organized” and start the new year off right. My problem in the past though, seems to be that I’ve never really had a plan on just how to do that.
Your post speaks to a deeper part of this issue and continues to demonstrate you are wise beyond your years.
I admire and respect your decisions to unplug some things and “get back to nature” and physical activities that you genuinely enjoy. Speaking for myself, I’ve been finding that very difficult to do.
I’ve been living in Hawaii for 4 years now, and I can go a mile in any direction and find parks, restaurants, and shops that I didn’t even know were there. Large parts of the island (Oahu) remain completely unexplored. It’s surprising to me when I stop and really think about how little I’ve gotten out and enjoyed this paradise over the past 4 years. There’s always work to do; always a client wanting something; always an email to deal with…
Several weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, Roxanne and I were in the middle of a business meeting at 5pm in the afternoon. All of the sudden a piercing horn blew from what sounded like inside our own house. A few seconds later it blew again. We were surprised and, honesly, a little pissed that there was something interrupting our very important meeting.
I walked out to the living room to find our very dear friends had come by to “force” us to stop working and start our “vacation” promptly at 5pm that Friday. They had brought their airhorn and were blowing it in our window. We hadn’t even remembered to start our own vacation and the promises we had previously made to ourselves to stop working that Friday afternoon and simply celebrate all the hard work and long hours we had been putting in over the past several months.
Lesson learned? Until you’re able to pull yourself away from work and the digital world, let your friends/family help remind you how important it is to take care of yourself first. How recharging it can be to get away from the computer and work, even for just a few hours, and talk story (hang out) and have a beer with a good friend.
Hi Colin,
I loved your post, a very interesting issue to chat about. Another interesting chat would be on people who pretent to be like others…come on we have all met them at one time or another.
People that make the net their lives, to lure frienships based on the words of others, their thoughts their feeling their desires. My question is why? Blogs are a good place to study people like this.
I find it astounding the amount of people that send love to each other after only posting one or two comments…..”love” how cheaply it is thrown around the net and friendships that will last the test of times through a couple of chats. Are these people so balanced in their lives that they send their love to complete strangers around the world? or is it a word that they use without meaning? maybe it just sounds good after reading someone elses Blog!
How many people out their know people that give comments and advice to others on many personal matters of life, yet the person that hides behind their computers giving advice to seekers need to seek advice themselves?
A great posting will be back to read some more
Best Wishes
Karen
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[...] Parallel to this are people like Colin Devroe who inspired today’s show with his comments about unsubscribing from some of the things that he once thought were critical to his happiness. He is simplifying. getting outside more often. Trusting that the the support we each require will continue to be available. [...]
[...] Last week I wrote “Stop being entertained by today and try to be yourself” which, in short, was some of my thoughts on how I need to make an effort to do things in the real world and stop doing things just because other people do them. [...]