Can we just be done for a bit?

 Done. 

I’m beginning to think this word is falling out of our vocabulary, to our detriment. 

At the risk of waxing nostalgic, I’m going to contrast life today to life not long ago. I’m going to question whether the difference serves us or not. And I’m going to wonder if it fits within the natural order of things. 

When I was a kid, if I wanted to play sports (which I didn’t - it got in the way of fishing), there was a season for that. Baseball was in the summer. Football was fall. Outside of season, you maybe scrapped together some informal games with the neighborhood kids and hope not to break a window, or you just didn’t play. 

When the season ended, you were done. No more of that until the next season rolled around. 

It was more or less the same with work. For most front-line employees, once you left for the day, you were done. 

And news. It wasn’t that long ago that if you wanted to know what was happening in the world, you waited for the paper the next morning or you tuned into the TV at 6:00 or 10:00 or you caught the occasional news update on the radio. Outside of that, it was done. Go about life without another thought about it until the next broadcast. 

None of that is how it is today. 

My daughter plays travel softball. She’s 10. While the official “season” is starting now, she’s been playing softball continuously since last season “ended” thanks to the proliferation of indoor facilities. That dynamic is not unique to the sport of softball. 

Today, is work ever really “done” now that we have mobile communication devices? Before the cell phone invaded everyone’s pockets, maybe you got the occasional work phone call after hours, but you had to be within earshot of the wired-in appliance in your house to know such a call even existed. 

Then, you didn’t have emails, messages, or Slack notifications dinging the mobile device in your pocket, or, God forbid, buzzing on your smart watch. There’s literally no escaping it. It’s become societally unacceptable to be unreachable. So much so that not answering within some ridiculously short period of time will likely earn you a wellness check from local emergency services. 

Speaking of which, that same “convenience” of being connected to everyone at all times also gives us 24-7 access to “news,” though I use that term loosely. Gone are the days where the “news” was a public service. Now, with some exceptions, it’s a perpetual, unrelenting war for our attention. There’s no escaping it and it’s never really “done,” is it?

It begs the question whether all this technological “advancement” serves as individuals, or as a community, however you want to define it. 

I believe it doesn’t, for the most part. I’d bet that many would agree, if nothing other than on account of the statistics indicating that we’re more stressed, lonelier, and more burned out than we were before all this “advancement.”

And by “we” I mean adults and children both. The data does not paint a pretty picture. 

I also believe that it violates nature’s principles. 

The natural world operates in seasons. Look at everything springing to life right now. For the next several months, it will grow and flourish. But come fall, it will all start winding down. Leaves will fall, things will hibernate or go dormant in winter. It will be “done” for a while. 

I think there’s a lesson here that we could apply to life. We cannot always be “on.” We are not built to be perpetually bombarded with information, with constant notifications, with the constant feeling that our employers, or even our extended social connections, have perpetual access to our attention. Let alone “news” sources or algorithms that know exactly what it takes to raise our blood pressure. 

We’re coming into the season where it’s enjoyable to be outside. I encourage everyone to do just that, but leave the device behind. The world will get by without being able to reach you for a bit. 

You may find that to be the most advanced, natural thing you can do.