Loss of Connection

I'm currently fighting with the Internet right now. I don't like this. The connection keeps cutting out on me and it's frustrating. I never realized how connected I was to the Internet or how much I can depend on it. I've also never realized how little I care when it's not there. There could be many worse things in my life that I miss. This won't kill me. Williams is also right around the corner.

The other connection I would not mourn the loss of right now is my cell phone. Typically during the year, my cell phone does not leave my hip. Ever. It is always there, keeping me on time and keeping me connected. I'm not sure if I don't like the time right now, or if I simply hate being connected to people when I want to be alone. Or alone with someone. I resent the intrusion of others into the time that I have to myself. There were three separate occasions that my cell phone nearly forcefully met my wall. I think the wall would have won, which was the only thing that stopped me. That, and the fact that I would have been labelled even crazier than I already am. I know it too.

These connections are ones I would not mourn being rid of. I would actually enjoy that more than many other things right now. The connections that we should mourn the loss of is best illustrated by a comic that ran a few weeks ago. There's a beautiful painting in the Sistine Chapel of God reaching down to touch the outstretched hand of man. It shows the deep connection that is felt between the Creator and the created. The comic is more specific for the information generation in which we live. God has His hand outstretched the reach out. Man has his finger pointing up, in a "just wait one second" kind of gesture. His laptop is open on his lap and you can see a cell phone. He is connected in so many ways, but not in the right way. He is missing the connection that will really fulfill him on every level, the one connection that is reaching out to him.

We have a choice about which connections we keep and which ones we throw against the wall. We can cling to our cell phones, Blackberrys, laptops and Internet. We can get so caught up in what we think are the most important things, but still leave us feeling empty. We can cling to acquaintances, the people we see only for holiday parties and think that we have meaningful relationships. We can choose to not answer when someone who needs us calls. The other choice that we can make is to ignore the connections that society wants us to conform to. We can choose to not get a job based on how much it pays and to do something that will completely fulfill us and answer the deepest need in our heart. We can choose to ignore the things that call to us and simply listen to those around us.

Whichever connection we choose, we will lose some of another. We will either lose our connection with the popular world, or we will lose our connection to those around us. I know which connection I would choose to lose. And I think I'm losing it right now . . . .