Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 32

Uncommon Birds: Lessons for Life from a Four-Letter-Word Spring

Hmmm, is there any
saving grace in this unrepentantly wet spring?

Wretched. Miserable.
Depressing. Choose your own adjective or four-letter-word. The weather this
spring has been dismal. The sun has been missing in action more days than not.
The rain tap turned on early and just will not stop. It is raining again, on a
Saturday, as I write this post.

Spring is birdwatching
season. My cranky back does not like bending backwards to look up into the
foresst canopy. Nonetheless, I am usually out as often as possible hunting
migrants. The opportunities this year were few and far between with the
persistent bad weather.

In a spring like this
one, I have to hope to catch one good weather day when a wave of birds comes
through with some uncommon species for my spring list. Fortunately, fate did
smile on me once in this forgettable spring.

Orange-Crowned
Warblers are not as
colourful as many of their more striking warbler cousins. Dingy green with only
faint streaking and an orange crown stripe that is seldom visible, they may
seem like a ho hum bird. But they are
uncommon and therefore a highlight.

Lesson: Beauty sometimes
comes disguised in neutral shades.

Cerulean
Warblers get a
birdwatcher’s blood racing. Uncommon and not often spotted this far north, requiring
persistence to encounter, it draws a crowd whenever a male puts in appearance with
its cerulean blue garb with black and white markings.

Lesson: Persistence has
its rewards when life is uncooperative.

You would think it
unlikely to miss spotting a Yellow-Billed
Cuckoo. But even birds of this size can evade notice if they choose. I was
threading through a narrow path in a thicket when I spotted the top half of one
through the maze of limbs and leaves.

Lesson: You have to be
prepared to go the extra mile for some of life’s pleasures.

Distinguishing between
the very common Warbling Vireo and
the uncommon Philadelphia Vireo is a
challenge. Fortunately for me, the sun was at the right angle to bring out the
yellow wash on the breast of the Philly
that crossed my path that day.

Lesson: Sometimes it
really is all about perspective.

Perhaps the most
important lesson of this day was that you have to may hay while the sun shines
in this life. There are times when the good days outnumber the bad by a
considerable margin. But the good days can make it all worthwhile if you make
the most of them.

~  Now Available Online
from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of
Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also
the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which
was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s
website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go
Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing
are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the
right sidebar. If
you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly
to my page for postings once a week.

The Metaphor Guy Declares for the Fall Federation Election

Hmmm, can I count on your support for my campaign
run for 24 Sussex Drive?

I do not particularly like to talk politics.
The political arena strikes me as a three ring circus where each politician
competes to be the main act and does her/her utmost to undermine everyone else
on a daily basis.

But there is no avoiding the fact that we are
headed toward a federal election this fall. The Conservatives are already
flinging mud with their “Justin Trudeau Not as Advertised” ad campaign.
Trudeau’s first volley seems to be an attempt to curry pubic favour with a Digital Charter to reign in tech giants
like Facebook Google and Amazon. 

According to the Toronto Star, this charter
“will outline the government’s expectations on issues such as data ownership,
privacy protections and the online dissemination of hate — and Trudeau said the
government is considering meaningful financial penalties for companies that
break the rules”.

There will be an endless barrage
of such promises, as well as self-righteous accusations and vitriol, over the
coming months. I am tempted to dig a hole in the ground and hide out until the
whole mess wraps up and the successful party crows like a rooster.

However, I have decided instead to
enter the election race and run for the office of Prime Minister. I am
declaring no political affiliation, being equally disenchanted with all
parties, and will run as an independent candidate. If elected, I promise to
implement the following legislation:

Buck-An-Insult
Jar Law: All politicians will be subject
to a one dollar fine each and every time they say something nasty about an
opposing party member. The clink of looneys dropping into the insult jar will
be thunderous. By my calculations, the proceeds should eliminate the federal
deficit within one year.

15
Minutes of Silence Law: All
elected politicians will be required to wear an electronic device that detects fraudulent
speech or behaviour and delivers an electric shock to the wearer. The shock
will be enough to render the wearer mute for 15 minutes – a fate worse than
death for most politicians.

Three
Promises Law: Party
leaders will be limited to three promises in each election campaign. No
exceptions. If elected, the party leader will be required to deliver fully on
each of the three promises in their first term in office. Failure to do so will
carry two penalties:

Ejection
from office with no MP pension.Requirement
to wear for the next four years a sandwich board that reads Kick Me
Where It Hurts .

I recognize that I will be a dark horse candidate. It will require an
all-out grassroots movement to propel
me to victory. But I promise I will not ride
the coattails of anyone even though I may be viewed as a sacrificial lamb.

Call me The Metaphor Candidate. Can I count on your support?

~  Now Available Online
from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of
Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also
the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which
was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s
website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go
Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing
are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the
right sidebar. If
you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly
to my page for postings once a week.

My Political Anti-Manifesto as the Next Election Campaign Unfolds

Hmmm, how low will our
political leaders stoop in the next six months?

The next Canadian
federal election is scheduled to occur on October 21st or earlier. So
brace yourself for six months of mudslinging, trash talking and in the trenches,
no holds barred warfare. We will face a barrage of negativity and enmity.

The Conservatives are
first out of the gate with a television attack ad. Have you seen it? It starts
with a photo of Donald Trump with a voiceover narrator bemoaning scandalous
behaviour. Slowly the camera pans left
(symbolism all too obvious) to show Justin Trudeau. The punchline: Justin Trudeau – Not As Advertised.

The unspoken but obvious
implication: Justin Trudeau is the Canadian Donald Trump.

The tone has been set
for the campaign: no holds barred, down and dirty and below the belt like never
before. Personally, I find these tactics disgraceful and reprehensible.

But for the next six
months, the political gutter rats hold the cards. Why? Because politics in this
day and age is all about raw, knife-edged power – gaining it by any means
necessary and holding onto it like grim death. We the electorate have to choose
the candidate or party we find to be the least objectionable.

I believe that Canada –
as a country, a people and a culture – is better than this. We are a proud
nation that values democracy, equality and humility. We carry our heads high
but not so high that we feel superior.

We are not perfect and
make no claim to be so. But the majority of Canadians would not live anywhere
else given the choice. Canada, the second largest country in the world with a
landmass of almost 10 million KM2, is our home and where all are
hearts reside.

Sad to say, our
politicians – not all of them, but certainly the ones who wield the power –
have lost touch with the country they claim to represent. They do not reflect
our values or our beliefs. They are adrift in their own relentless quest for
power.

The next six months will
be difficult for us as we sadly shake our heads over the state of affairs in
the realm of politics. On Election Day, some will not vote in silent protest.
The majority of us will mark our X on the ballot – hoping for better days
ahead, but mostly just glad that the nasty and knife-fight campaign is over.

Elections used to be
known as a horserace with frontrunners, dark horses and sometimes a neck and
neck finish. We glue ourselves to our TVs on election night to watch the
results roll in. But now, sadly, the metaphor that best applies is a cockfight.

We are Canadians. We are
better than this.

By all means, do cast
your vote on Election Day. But if a candidate comes to your door during the
campaign, let them know what you really think about the behaviour of our
political leaders. That act is perhaps the most important way of exercising our
political freedom.

~  Now Available Online
from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of
Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also
the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which
was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s
website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go
Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing
are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the
right sidebar. If
you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly
to my page for postings once a week.

Metaphors of Life Journal: Social Media - Puppies, Parenting and the Wind

Hmmm, the social media phenomenon – good, bad or somewhere in-between?

I should be down at the lakefront birdwatching right now. But the weather has reverted to mid-March conditions and there are not enough cuss words in the English language to express my displeasure. So, rather than rant about this petulant spring, I will once again ponder the perplexing question of social media and where it is taking us.

First, some context. There are in the neighbourhood of 4.39 billion internet users of which 3.48 billion use social media. Worldwide the average user spends 2 hours and 22 minutes per day on social networks and messaging apps.

The top five platforms in Canada are Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram (owned by Facebook) and YouTube. Worldwide, the top five are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Qzone and Weibo – the latter two being Chinese in origin and presumably driven by the fact that China heads the list of population by country at 1.42 billion.

The numbers aside, is social media on balance more beneficial or more harmful/

On the plus side, social media has enabled conversations between human beings that were not possible in the era of mass media. These networked conversations lead to new forms of social organization and levels of knowledge exchange never before conceived.

We are arguably smarter, more informed and more organized because of social media. It has made the world a much smaller place in a virtual sense – connecting people on opposite ends of the globe at the click of a button.

On the minus side, social media can become addictive. Researchers have posed the idea of “Facebook Addiction Disorder” characterized by the same qualities as other forms of addiction – neglect of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experiences, concealing of addictive behaviour and withdrawal symptoms.

Other studies have linked heavy Facebook use to less moment-to-moment happiness, less life satisfaction and social isolation. Scrolling through social media feeds encourages comparing ourselves to others which can make us feel that we do not measure up. It can breed jealousy – for example, seeing other people’s expensive vacations which we cannot afford.

Honestly, I am not sure where I land on the good or bad debate. There may not be a definitive answer. Rather than declare for one side or other, I will leave you with three thought-provoking metaphors for social media I found online. I have my favourite. Which one is yours?

Social media is like a puppy: It is cute and cuddly and looks easy to take care of at first. Then you realize it needs constant care and attention.

Social media is like parenting: Just when you think you have it figured out, they change the rules of engagement.

Social media is like wind energy: The wind is free but the wind generator is not.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Social Media: Puppies, Parenting and the Wind

Hmmm, the social media
phenomenon – good, bad or somewhere in-between?

I should be down at the
lakefront birdwatching right now. But the weather has reverted to mid-March
conditions and there are not enough cuss words in the English language to
express my displeasure. So, rather than rant about this petulant spring, I will
once again ponder the perplexing question of social media and where it is
taking us.

First, some context. There
are in the neighbourhood of 4.39 billion internet users of which 3.48 billion
use social media. Worldwide the average user spends 2 hours and 22 minutes per
day on social networks and messaging apps.

The top five platforms
in Canada are Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram (owned by Facebook) and
YouTube. Worldwide, the top five are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Qzone and
Weibo – the latter two being Chinese in origin and presumably driven by the
fact that China heads the list of population by country at 1.42 billion.

The numbers aside, is
social media on balance more beneficial or more harmful/

On the plus side, social
media has enabled conversations between human beings that were not possible in
the era of mass media. These networked conversations lead to new forms of
social organization and levels of knowledge exchange never before conceived.

We are arguably smarter,
more informed and more organized because of social media. It has made the world
a much smaller place in a virtual sense – connecting people on opposite ends of
the globe at the click of a button.

On the minus side, social
media can become addictive. Researchers have posed the idea of “Facebook
Addiction Disorder” characterized by the same qualities as other forms of addiction
– neglect of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying
experiences, concealing of addictive behaviour and withdrawal symptoms.

Other studies have
linked heavy Facebook use to less moment-to-moment happiness, less life satisfaction
and social isolation. Scrolling through social media feeds encourages comparing
ourselves to others which can make us feel that we do not measure up. It can
breed jealousy – for example, seeing other people’s expensive vacations which
we cannot afford.

Honestly, I am not sure
where I land on the good or bad
debate. There may not be a definitive answer. Rather than declare for one side
or other, I will leave you with three thought-provoking metaphors for social
media I found online. I have my favourite. Which one is yours?

Social media is like a
puppy: It is cute and cuddly and looks easy to take care of at first. Then you
realize it needs constant care and attention.

Social media is like
parenting: Just when you think you have it figured out, they change the rules
of engagement.

Social media is like wind
energy: The wind is free but the wind generator is not.

~  Now Available Online
from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of
Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also
the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which
was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s
website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go
Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing
are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the
right sidebar. If
you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly
to my page for postings once a week.

A Fox Sparrow Prospecting in the Ground Litter

Hmmm, can less sometimes be more if we shift our perspective?

I have begun my annual spring migration birdwatching ritual. Hard to believe I have by pursuing this hobby for 35+ years and that my fascination with birds has not waned in that time.

However, aging and its effects has necessitated some changes. My energy level is not what it once was. More importantly, my temperamental back does not much like bending back to look up into the trees. My desire and my capabilities are perpetually at odds with another in this aspect of my life.

Consequently, covering as much ground as possible to max out my day count of species simply is not an option many days. Gradually, under protest and with no small amount of griping, I am adjusting. Now the objective for the day is more often one or two good sightings.

A Fox Sparrow falls into the definition of a good sighting as it is considered uncommon. This chunky sparrow, displaying bright, reddish brown plumage, is commonly seen strutting through the ground litter looking for a meal.

When I spotted one yesterday, I paused a moment to observe it at work. This moment of reflection allowed me for the first time to detect its distinctive and emphatic backward kicks clearing away dead leaves. It is clearly well adapted to the forest floor it inhabits.

In three and a half decades of birdwatching, it is the first time I paused long enough to notice this behaviour. Perhaps, my inner conflict notwithstanding, there is an upside to being forced to throttle down.

A strutting Fox Sparrow prospecting for a meal in the ground litter – a random act of metaphor to teach me that less can indeed be more sometimes if I open myself to the possibility.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Metaphors of Life Journal: What is Taking the Wind Out of Our Sails?

Hmmm, is it just me, or are we collectively running out of gas?

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Oh man, I’m so tired!”

“Me too. I’m running on empty.”

It is a common conversation these days. So common, in fact, that it is starting to both intrigue and concern me. For the record, I share the problem. It is more than just a passing thing. Something is wearing us out. But what?

We could blame it on the nasty winter and the slow arrival of spring. But it has to be bigger than that. What is robbing us of our energy? I don’t know. But there are some prime suspects.

SUSPECT #1: POISONOUS POLITICIANS

There is U.S. President Donald Trump, his obsession with the border wall and his general buffoonery whenever he is in the public eye. A man of this disruptive and disreputable nature holding the highest office of the world’s superpower takes its toll in worry and chagrin

There is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the SNC-Lavalin quagmire he has trapped himself in. He had the opportunity to take the high road, but chose otherwise. Ousting Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus left many shaking their heads.

And there is tiny despot Doug Ford in Ontario on his slash and burn rampage through the public service. Drunk with power, Ford is making enemies in every quarter. Unfortunately for us, he is the type of man who measures his self-worth by the number of enemies he has acquired.

SUSPECT #2: THE DIGITAL RAT RACE

Our work lives have been taken hostage by digital technology. It is supposed to make our lives better, but instead it raises our blood pressure. E-mails arriving at the rate of one every two minutes. Fidgety, temperamental software that works or does not work on its own whims. We are the rats chasing the cheese that the technology promises but seldom delivers.

SUSPECT #3: SENSORY OVERLOAD

Television with 100+ channels. Analog, digital and internet radio. Digital devices that are never turned off. Social media sites that cry out to be checked. Electronic billboards that spew out a new message every ten seconds. We are bombarded by a plethora of sensory messages every waking hour that are well beyond what our brain is equipped to handle.

Is it the cumulative effect of all of the above? I wish I had the answer, but I only have suspicions. Something is taking the wind out of our sails. This much I know: We need to figure out what it is and fix it before restless nights and days on autopilot permanently short-circuit our brains.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

What is Stealing the Wind from Our Sails?

Hmmm, is it just me, or are we collectively running out of gas?

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Oh man, I’m so tired!”

“Me too. I’m running on empty.”

It is a common conversation these days. So common, in fact, that it is starting to both intrigue and concern me. For the record, I share the problem. It is more than just a passing thing. Something is wearing us out. But what?

We could blame it on the nasty winter and the slow arrival of spring. But it has to be bigger than that. What is robbing us of our energy? I don’t know. But there are some prime suspects.

SUSPECT #1: POISONOUS POLITICIANS

There is U.S. President Donald Trump, his obsession with the border wall and his general buffoonery whenever he is in the public eye. A man of this disruptive and disreputable nature holding the highest office of the world’s superpower takes its toll in worry and chagrin

There is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the SNC-Lavalin quagmire he has trapped himself in. He had the opportunity to take the high road, but chose otherwise. Ousting Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus left many shaking their heads.

And there is tiny despot Doug Ford in Ontario on his slash and burn rampage through the public service. Drunk with power, Ford is making enemies in every quarter. Unfortunately for us, he is the type of man who measures his self-worth by the number of enemies he has acquired.

SUSPECT #2: THE DIGITAL RAT RACE

Our work lives have been taken hostage by digital technology. It is supposed to make our lives better, but instead it raises our blood pressure. E-mails arriving at the rate of one every two minutes. Fidgety, temperamental software that works or does not work on its own whims. We are the rats chasing the cheese that the technology promises but seldom delivers.

SUSPECT #3: SENSORY OVERLOAD

Television with 100+ channels. Analog, digital and internet radio.  Digital devices that are never turned off. Social media sites that cry out to be checked. Electronic billboards that spew out a new message every ten seconds. We are bombarded by a plethora of sensory messages every waking hour that are well beyond what our brain is equipped to handle.

Is it the cumulative effect of all of the above? I wish I had the answer, but I only have suspicions. Something is taking the wind out of our sails. This much I know: We need to figure out what it is and fix it before restless nights and days on autopilot permanently short-circuit our brains.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Confessions of a Hard-Core Clock Watcher

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. It’s thin current slides away, but eternity remains. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Hmmm, can a hard-core clock watcher learn to make friends with time?

Something got me thinking today about time, or more specifically the nature of it. I see your eyes glazing over. Oh no, he’s going on one of his philosophical meanders! Yes, I am. But I promise I will be a brief stroll.

We generally think of time as a constant – simple, unchanging and definitively measurable. But there is a whole body of science, known as Horology, around the nature of time which is heavily influenced by Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Einstein’s introduced the concept of space-time. In his theory, space and time are interconnected and the distinction between past, present and future gets blurred. I will not go any further down that road lest I stumble. But it does set the stage for me to ponder.

We tend to view time as a malevolent force over which we need to exert control. We do so by dividing into increments from seconds, minutes and days all the way up to years, decades and millenniums. Reducing it to ticks on the clock and pages turning on the calendar creates an illusion of control that pacifies us.

But time has an elusive and mutable quality that resists our attempts to rein it in.

In my youth, I saw what seemed like an endless amount of time stretching out ahead of me. I was impatient with the passage of time. In my restlessness, I regularly urged it speed up so I could get to those places and experiences I craved. I wanted tomorrow to get here as soon as possible so I could get my hands on the promises it held.

But now, at the age of 61, I lament the loss of time and protest how fast it moves. There are not enough hours in the day for all I need to do. I have become a hard-core clock watcher. I cannot imagine not wearing a wristwatch. I want to slow down today until I have crammed all the must-do stuff into it. My most fervent desire is to wake up tomorrow and feel free to luxuriate in it.

Time and I have become mortal enemies. It is forever straining to get away from me while I am forever straining to bend it to my will. We are in a never ending arm wrestling match which I intuitively know I am doomed to lose.

The wisdom of age entreats me to make friends with time and live within the moment. Occasionally, and ever so briefly, I attain this state. But it slips away from me all too quickly.

I am inclined to believe that Thoreau got it right when he employed the metaphor of time as a stream to go a-fishing in. It is shallow and easily used up, but at the same time infinitely wide stretching to eternity. I have focused too much on its depth and not enough on its generous horizontal horizon.

There is time enough, but none to spare.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

On the 30th Anniversary of the Internet: Are We Moving Toward the Light?

Hmmm, is the 30the birthday of the Internet a time to push pause and gather our thoughts?

Before we ponder that question, a clarification is necessary. We use the words Internet and Web interchangeably. But they are not one and the same.

The Internet by definition is a global network of computers that are able to communicate with one another. It dates all the way back to the 1960s when ARPANET was developed by the U.S. military. The Web, which is 30 years young, is the streamlined way people like you and I access the Internet. English engineer and computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee is the father of it.

As I contemplated writing this post, I struggled to decide what tact I would take. I did not want it to be another Technology Grinch article. I considered framing it from the traditional “the good, the bad and the ugly” perspective. But that seemed too simplistic.

I have to be honest. A part of me wishes the whole thing had never come about. The world was a whole lot simpler before we opened that virtual door. But I have no doubt bygone generations said the same thing when the first Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s transitioned us from hand production methods to machines.

Leadership guru John C. Maxwell coined the phrase: Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. We cannot stop change from happening. It is the nature of the world to constantly evolve. It simply cannot be static. We have the choice to grow with it or be left behind. Being left behind, although it has a renegade appeal, is not a wise choice.

By that line of thinking, the arrival of the Internet and the Web was inevitable. There was no perhaps we should not go down this road moment. It came along as an inevitable consequence of the advancement of human knowledge and ingenuity.

So it is pointless to ask whether the Web is a good thing or a bad thing. The more important question, which is entirely within our control, is: How can we use it to the make the world and our lives better? I believe we have never stopped to ask that question.

We have become so enamoured with technology, and the seemingly limitless possibilities it presents, that we default to believing that whatever is possible is by definition necessary and good. This can be a dangerous point of view to adopt. It leads to simply because we can technology which can become a runaway train with no driver.

So what I am asking? My plea is that we carefully, and I dare say prayerfully, consider where each new technological advance will lead us. Will it make our world better, for everyone – not just a chosen few – or will it take us down roads that end up at dead ends or points of no return.

One of the most profound metaphors for change is moving from darkness to light. We change because we see the best way ahead and move toward the light. Let us keep our eyes open and ensure that we consciously choose where technology is taking us rather than just being along for the ride wherever it might end up.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

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