Technology - Love/Hate relationship!

My microwave went out. I cannot cook without it. Therefore my family can't eat. This isn't good.

To replace it means spending $500 for a new one and getting my husband to install it. This isn't good either.

I have learned that I have a dependency, nay, an addiction to technology. My phone is basically attached to me at all times. If I misplace it even for a moment, panic ensues. Having kids away from home has created this. Especially my daughter in New York. Sometimes she texts me because she needs my help with something. I know I'm a pushover but I like to be available when she needs me, or any of my family needs me.

My computer . . . I am very dependent upon my computer for everything. All my correspondence and social networking happens through my computer. All my photos are on my computer. All my writing is on my computer. All my Zumba music is on my computer. It almost makes me hyperventilate just thinking about what would happen if my computer died or caught a virus. (I am knocking on wood as I type)

My DVR. I love this thing. Commercials have become extinct. I don't have time for commercials. I never watch any TV program at its regularly scheduled time. I DVR it then watch it when I can fast-forward the commercial. The only way to do it.

I don't think I realized how dependent I was on all these things until my microwave died. Amazing how many times I've opened the door of the microwave to put something in there out of habit, only to realize I can't use it. Do you know how long it takes to reheat things in the oven!!!

Yet, part of me wonders if there isn't some important lesson to be learned from this. It is scary to be dependent on something I don't have control over. When the church teaches about self-sufficiency, maybe this should be included because we still need to know how to function without all of our technological machines.

I found a couple of interesting quotes.

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. ~Isaac Asimov, Isaac Asimov's Book of Science and Nature Quotations, 1988

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. ~Mark Kennedy

I've taken some time to really think about all of this and wonder if I need to make some adjustments in my life. Think about how much time you spend each day with some sort of technology. It might surprise you. Then ask yourself the question, how much would my life be impacted if I didn't have this?

I'm not saying I'm giving up any of this completely. But maybe we should start communication with people in person, rather than through machines. And maybe I need to become familiar that magical box underneath the burners on my stove which bakes things.

Does this mean I don't want a new microwave. Are you kidding? I can't get one fast enough. But I might just try my hand at baking a homemade lasagne, rather than microwaving one from Costco. I'll take pictures when it happens . . . of the shocked faces of my family.