Tangled No More

I've had a "smart phone" for many years now, allowing it to monitor my work-life patterns.  But, we've resisted buying a "smart TV" until this past week.  Our thinking:  we already have over 150 cable channels -- the majority we don't watch! --  so why introduce more distractions into our lives.

We now have a new member of the family, and have memberships to Amazon Prime and PBS Passport.  Congratulations seemed to be in order... until we moved the entertainment center away from the wall and stared at the spaghetti of dusty and entangled wires!

Where to begin with years of neglect?

What memories entangle your present life?

Over three hours, we helped one another dust the entertainment center, declutter the wires by sorting and removing unwanted or broken wires, and hook up our newest purchase.  Oftentimes, we needed one another to hold the flashlight and shed light into dark spaces, lift heavy objects, read instructions, and test hookups.

Eventually, we were back to normal... almost: the TV worked; we could listen to CDs; and we could switch sources to watch our DVDs.  (Yes, we are still behind when it comes to our collections of music and purchased shows!)

Everything worked... until I realized that a portion of the larger screen positioned in the entertainment center was hidden:  I was not seeing all of the screen because of where I was sitting!

Are prickly entanglements encountered today?
(Wrigley Botanical Gardens, Avalon, Catalina)

This exercise in updating to a "smart lifestyle" raised several questions:

• What relationships have I neglected?
  
• Are there entanglements that need to be addressed?
• Who can help shine light into the darker corners of my life?
• Am I not seeing the whole story because of my positions and perspectives?

And, maybe more importantly, is my life any smarter because of the smart devices that may clutter my daily life?

Where are your perspectives and values aligned?
(Mosque-Cathedral, Cordoba, Spain)

I sometimes amaze myself!  Not because I can stay calm or patient in most circumstances.  Not because I am sometimes creative in redesigning processes and user interfaces.  Not because I can learn new technologies.

No, I am amazed when I come across dusty and tangled situations that I have neglected.  I am amazed when I realize that I need others to shine the light on my inadequacies.  And I am amazed when I realize that being smart is not the same as owning smart devices.

As we look at our complex and entangled world this week:

• May we move our self-focused entertainment centers;
• May we learn to dust off and clear out years of neglect; and,
  
• May we be willing to sit in another location to seek out different perspectives.

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

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