Great Advice

I have a quote to talk about today and thought I would pass this on because it is a useful quote and because, well, I couldn't have said it better myself in describing the danger of too much technology and the excess of information it gives us. It comes from an unlikely source, the Pope. Too, this pope, Pope Benedict, has not been the most quoted of all the Heavenly Fathers. In fact, he's been virtually ignored since stepping into his role as head of the Catholic Church.

When giving a sermon recently on the excesses of the internet and the other electronic technologies we are addicted to, he urged Catholics and anyone else who might hear his words to practice less logging on and more "contemplation and silence". Oh no! He wants humans to start thinking for themselves again! It may be too much at this stage in civilization since at present we are so wired to electronic gadgets. But I think it a great idea to turn off the noise and contemplate more.

Benedict said, "People today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they never asked and to needs of which they were unaware." That may be the most insightful explanation of how technology is both rotting our brains and estranging us from the basic questions life gives us but that now seem to be drowned out by excesses of the electronic technology age. Too much information can be as fatal as to little.

The media we use today is in non stop chatter mode and we can't get enough of it. But as Pope Benedict pointed out in his speech, more attention should be paid to the various types of web sites, applications and social networks which can help people today find the time for authentic questioning". Uh, this could mean turning off the gossip web site in favor of the more philosophical one, disconnecting that virtual farm you love and planting real plants in a scenic are ripe for real contemplation about the cogent questions every thinking human should address.

Too, by communicating with each other in a meaningful way we share our common goal of understanding the real world, not the virtual fantasy we create with our electronic gadgets.