I got a text message from a pal of mine. I had already asked him to meet for lunch and chat. His reply was ‘too busy’
I rang him and said doing what? He replied doing stuff.
Interesting I know for a fact his life appears to be fast. Going here, going there, doing this, doing that yet I wonder I just wonder.
I went for a walk thinking about him. I was thinking about him because he is part of the new super-generation of connected disconnects.
Think about this.
When I was 12 I had a young guy from the USA in my class for around 3-4 months. It was the first time any of us had seen an American outside the movies. I can remember us all being fascinated with this character wanting to hear him talk.
Now kids know people from all over the planet and it’s seen as normal. As I type my son Oli is on his PS3 speaking with kids all over the planet as they try and defeat the bad guys in games.
Smart phones have literally exploded. Now it appears the biggest trend for web browsing is phones NOT PC.
Facebook have just completed some research that indicates the slow death of email. When a large group of people were asked how they connect online MOST said Facebook. A large chunk of those didn’t own an email address. I know for a fact the only way to grab two of my sons is via Facebook.
Picture this: My son in his room. He plays his PS3. To his left is a laptop. To his right is a large PC. On his leg is an iPod. On his bed is an iPad. As he plays games he IMs his pals. He texts me for a drink. He emails me and his mates for other stuff.
You can walk out, take a photo and within 30 seconds have it on Facebook or other social media for the World to see.
You can connect to anther person on the other side of the planet in less than one second.
Bottom line is it seems we are very connected.
Yet the reality is we are more disconnected than ever before. What do I mean?
Lets think about life itself here. I mean is life in one dimension, two dimensions or three dimensions?
The answer might seem obvious yet the truth might not seem as obvious.
When we see a photograph of someone we create an impression or image in our mind. Thais is one dimensional of course. When we see that person on video or film or sound that creates a second dimensional thought. Yet both those thoughts leave us detached from the third dimension.
Why is that. I suppose the first questions is what is the third dimension? Let me try and illustrate.
You know when you go into a room and finally meet the person you have seen on video, heard on audio or seen photographs of right?
When you meet them in 3D they are not the person you imagined or they are more than the person you imagined do you agree?
So up until that point what you thought they were, when you finally meet them, they were not.
So although you felt you were connected to the person, suddenly your brain is thrown into a spin because when you see them in the flesh it appears there is no connection. Why is that?
Honestly I am not 100% sure but here is what I do know and what I have seen. There are things we cannot explain. The on-going conditioning of humanity tells us if we cannot explain or prove with what tools we have right now, we must dismiss it. We are told to say, I don’t believe, I don’t accept or even worse we voice no opinion. Yet it is the greatest mysteries that have created the greatest thinkers. These thinkers go out all the way to discover and solve.
In other words, they connect and use their brains, their minds, their heart, their spirit, they are … CONNECETED in the fullest sense.
I wonder you know I just wonder are we losing connection in the real sense of things?
Whats the MESSAGE in all of this?
It has to be simple… we reconnect and disconnect for a while at the same time.
Don’t be afraid of spending some time without your cellphone. Don’t be scared of not checking your email.Don’t worry that he, she or someone can’t get a hold of you. Take time to BE with yourself.
Have you seen how everyone goes for a run or a walk with headphones in?
Imagine what you miss. The wonderful sound of a bird. The powerful sound of the huge A380 flying over. The sounds of children playing. The whish of the wind blowing through the trees.
They might sound like nothing but here is one thing we cannot deny… the Law of nature, the law of creation, the laws of the universe and they continually tell us we MUST connect.
So here’s a question for you …
Have you connected to anything or anyone today?
I hope you get something from this.
I’d love to know what you think, let me know lave a message and don’t forget this blog gets a ton of traffic so leave your web address and I’ll send some to you.







love that story Al, as a blind person who trains other blind people to connect with others on their pc’s, it is still good to go back to nature and places like Glastonbury and climb the Tor and feel the wind, do some walking and connect with the people you know and love. I am still trying to attract one of your copywriting masterclasses in to my life cos i can’t afford one, but i know i am going to get there soon. Nice to connect with you mate, all the best, Simon Highsmith Southampton
good one AFS, i run, maybe 3 times a week & leave the ipod at home to take in the atmosphere. other runners sometimes look at me funny but hey ho i dont think they get it!
had a day out with friends today also, went to a new area never been to before, spoke to the locals, spoke to the holiday makers, spoke to the landlords. fed the ducks & swans. watched kids play on their skateboards & bmx’s, took me back to my youth.
All in all, a very pleasant, refreshing & connecting day :0)
All the best AFS
GFS!
Hi Alan. Thanks for the thought-provoking article. I think that when we connect with a deeper part of ourselves, that’s when we feel a deeper connection with others, with nature, etc. That deep, connected state seems to come and go as we experience other emotional states throughout the day. But my impression is that there’s an inner part of us that wants us to go deeper and deeper, until we ultimately find our true selves.
Al,
I’m in crowded cafe. I ask a stranger to pass the sugar.
We start a dialogue which goes for 35 minutes.
We cover a ranage of subjects; heart felt stuff.
We connect. It could have gone nowehere, but we
were both willing to expose our private thoughts, vulnerabilities, our ‘journey’ and so on.
We may never meet again.
I had a connection with a person a couple of months ago. Instant connection which has lasted till now. Opened my
heart. Got me out of my head, so that now I am open to connecting quickly, if the energy is there.
I see the word connect everywhere and I hear the word in random conversations.
I’m also more connected to myself.
Strange how the Universe works if we are open.
Thanks for the prompt.
Cheers
Brian
Very interesting article Alan. I find the weird phenomenon of adding the 3rd dimension into the mix an altogether strange experience. You truly believe you know someone until you actually meet them in the real world and like you say, the brain isn’t quite sure how to process the reality versus the perception. I believe this is called cognitive dissonance.
This very subject has been rolling around my head too – with the information overload and 21st Century culture of “busy-ness” it’s easy to get lost in the tidal wave of things to do, forgetting the essentials of things to BE.
Thank you for reminding us how valuable and rewarding it is to ground ourselves in the magic moments, the connections with people, pets and nature before we launch off into the next “urgent” thing on the agenda.