Social network? How do you figure?

I just read a comment someone wrote about Facebook. It wasn't long, it just contained a short quip about the user's mom and what she said about it. What she said was that ever since Facebook became popular and everyone started using it she, being one of the few who doesn't use it, has lost track of what is going on with the people she knows. She used to get the occasional e-mail or phone call, but now, nothing. This brought to mind the fact that, though they call it a social network, Facebook is more like a social cop-out. I know some of you will argue this, that it is a great way to be more involved in the life of others, but I am going to post my thoughts on it.

Now, to make sure it is clear, I hardly log in to Facebook, let alone actually use it. Every time I log in to it I see random comments that to understand I would have to read millions of posts from many people to get a somewhat hazy picture of what the poster might actually be talking about, I just don't have the patience to figure out someone else's drama, so I avoid Facebook and if anyone messages me on it I usually don't see it until much later. Anyway, that being said here is why I feel that using a social network to connect with others is really just a way to not do it.

Our communication skills have been getting worse as our technology improves. It used to be you had to travel somewhere to talk to someone and that made it a very special occasion to get to catch up with them. Then at some point we started sending messages, like mail, with someone to be delivered. This made it possible for us to keep up on the more recent events but it was still special to see people, this was actually an improvement. The next thing that happened is we could call someone and talk to them, hearing someone's voice can be very comforting and also gives us a more instant connection to people, talking on the phone can still be quite personal, though a letter is more heartfelt and visiting in person is still the best way to connect with someone. The next things that happened were technology, we started sending e-mails, still something we could personalize, like a letter, except that it arrived nearly instantly. We eventually moved on to paging people or sending text messages, which limited the things we could say which changed our language and degraded our skills in actually writing. Then we continued down this path and eventually arrived with social networks. Now, instead of sending a person a letter, calling someone specifically or using any other of the past points of contact we can just post our thoughts to everyone in general and if we want to connect with someone specifically we "like" their post or say something short and truly pathetic in terms of comfort to what we previously had. So, instead of making single, personal connections that take time out of our lives and let people know we care, we instead can put this little "social" blurbs about what's going on and let people know we saw they wrote something. Don't you feel so much closer now to the person who said, "Yeah, that sucks" to you when you shared your absolutely worst experience ever with them? Yeah, I don't either.

So, to keep with the theme of this blog, your life will be quite a bit greener if you take some time to really connect with others. Give someone a call or write them a letter, it will make them feel better and in turn you'll feel better as well, especially if they take the time to write a letter back.

As a side note, I must add this as well. Social networks aren't all evil, they do have some benefits for people that really don't have much time in the day and need to connect somehow. My wife for example pointed out that it helps her feel less lonely in the day and she doesn't really have the ability to call someone or write a letter when she's watching two young children. So yes, they have their place, but my argument is that they aren't always as social as they are made to be.

Rethink Processes

I was talking to someone I work with yesterday about how difficult it is for them to make meals, not that they didn't have time but that when they finished making them they didn't want to eat them right away, instead they wanted to rest afterwards for a few hours. This got me thinking about how we all have processes and everyone seems to adopt them in the same way that they observed someone else do them. For the most part you can see what works for someone and see if it works for you, but what happens if it doesn't? Do you give up the good thing you could have if you did this process or do you force yourself to do it anyway? The problem with forcing yourself is that you won't really enjoy it and if you give up the good things how will you change? I thought about the problem that was presented to me and gave the coworked a different perspective on it.

What I asked was why dinner had to be prepared before dinner time. I mean, if you eat very late which we all know isn't very good for you because you're spending the time making the meal, is it really worth it? Probably not, you might be negating the benefits of the good food by eating it at a time that your body would rather be settling down for bed. So my suggestion was this: make the meals in advance. Use a slow cooker and have the food cooking while you're at work and in order to save yourself from having to get up so early to prepare it, do all the preparations after you have eaten dinner. That way instead of making dinner before eating you're making it afterwards for the next day which will help you to eat earlier instead of later. This works for other things as well, just because it is normally done one way by most people doesn't mean that's the way you have to do it.

I look at recipes as more a basic set of instructions to be loosely followed. With that kind of mindset I can go from making what it says to creating what I would rather have. I often do this with soups and casseroles because I don't have everything they ask for and normally they turn out pretty good with the changes I make. Some of the processes I change aren't always for the better either, at least not for everyone, but they work better for me and makes it more of my own so that I can actually remember it. I often did this in math class when I was in school, skipping steps or doing two parts of it at once. I did this because I saw it as redundant and it drove my teachers crazy, they would always ask how I got there and tell me to show my work, which I would point out I did but I just cut out the extra steps (and my answer was right, so did it really matter that I did it their way?). There are many processes we follow in life, some are good as they are but others can be changed to accomodate your own lifestyle. Perhaps there is a time that works better for you to do something, it may not be normal, but if it works and doesn't disturb other people's processes I would say go for it, take that task and make it your own.

Solio Charger

Sometimes you find things you like, other times you are given things you like. A couple months ago I was given a Solio Classic Solar Charger, I haven't used it as much as I like, but that is mostly because I'm a bit lazy, but thinking about it, this device is great! I have no idea what kind of money I save using it, but I do like the fact that it is doing something for me. This device charges an internal battery using light from the sun, I just stick it in a window and let it sit there when I'm not needing it. Right now, because it is winter, it doesn't charge very fast, it takes a few days to get anything usable for me, so the only thing I charge with it usually is my cell phone. But even one device can make a difference. Each little thing you and everyone else does adds up, we can have a much greener existence if we all do little things. I'm not saying everyone needs to go out and get these little solar devices, but making any little change in your life can make things better for everyone.

My journey with solar is just beginning, since entering into a lease with Sungevity I have been looking more and more into what I can do. I am looking forward to the warm season because I have many things I want to work on, one of the biggest being the yard. My yard is currently a haven for weeds, I plan to change that this year. But I also have a shed that needs some work and my plan is to eventually get a solar powered light in there as well and turn the shed into a workspace for me. I'm looking forward to planting the garden, it uses the sun too. I have ideas and plans and things to try, I'll only get to do a few of them, but I wish I could do more of them. One of the things that I love about this little device I was given is the fact that I, being lazy, have unplugged the charger for my cell phone from the wall. Yeah, that should have been something I normally did, but I didn't. Having unplugged it I know I am saving more energy, those things draw power just by being plugged in, they don't have to be charging anything to cost you money. If I can keep that unplugged and charge my phone only using the solar charger I will be thrilled.

For me, this is more than just a choice, it is a challenge. I want to take some more time this year improving my life, greening it up in ways that I dream of but have not implemented yet and to find new dreams to pursue as well. I don't want to get my solar panels and say, "Great, I've done my part." I want to say, "Wow, look at that, what a great start. Now, what's next on my list?" This solar charger is more than just a neat device to me, it is a challenge to change, to make a difference with my life by making good choices and finding ways to improve it. Oh, how I love finding passion for things, now to fight to keep that passion going.

I Don't Have Time

How often is it that we won't make a change or try something new in our lives because we simply think we don't have time? The fact of the matter is, I'm betting we do have time, we just choose to use it for something else, and often I remember my time being used on pointless things, like video games and television shows. Now, I do still enjoy some time with these, but I also enjoy the time I take to do something good in my life too. It isn't anything life changing I do, sometimes I simply go help make dinner or do a few dishes, it makes the biggest difference to my wife, but I also feel a sense of accomplishment with my evening as well, and I usually still have time to watch a show or play a game afterwards anyway. The funny thing about not having time for something is that when you say you don't have time for it you are really saying that it isn't that important to you. If it were important you would make time, how many people will make sure they're at home to watch a football game or have time to go to a bar with their friends? But they don't have time to make their life better? Any change you make or anything new you try takes some time, you have to learn how to do it, but after a few tries you eventually find that it isn't that hard and the time you spent is worth it in the end.

For us changing our diet was hard, but once we got used to it we found that it was much easier and was worth it. Getting rid of cable was hard, we went stir crazy for a while trying to figure out what to do with our time, but we adjusted to it, we found some new shows to watch when we needed to watch something and we also began to find the joy in watching shows online. Recently we discovered the joy of Netflix and instant streaming of content, now we don't need cable, why would we? We have access to just about anything we would like to watch and everything else is just a matter of time and patience to get access to. These shows aren't so important to us that we must see them right now, we can wait, there are more important things in life to enjoy, such as our time together as a family. If you find that you use this excuse of not having time to improve your life, you might want to ask yourself if that's true and if you really do care about it enough to make time for it. Going green isn't always easy, but it is time well spent, for you, your family and all the other people that share this world with you.