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| Astoria Sky Mood ©Lora Fisher Photography |
Connections with friends and family, professional
networks, blogs, email, and on-line threats are aspects of life that most
of us manage daily, and which can change moment to moment.
Some believe that this
complex system of networks is a leap forward in human cultural and
social development. Others denounce our increasing dependence on an artificial construct that at any
moment can fail us. One good solar flair and it’s good-bye Shanghai business deal.
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| Astoria-Megler Bridge ©Lora Fisher Photography |
The
truth, as usual, is somewhere between.
I appreciate the accessibility
of information and speed of communications that we enjoy and am often amused by
the humanity expressed in off-hand and profound ways. I'm also stunned, at
times, by the crassness and irascibility that frequently presents
itself in this realm. The line between, and definition of, good
taste vs. bad is wobbly, ill-defined, and easily broken by a careless
remark.
I’ve managed to surf without falling
into shark-infested seas, so far. Or if I have, I’ve managed to get out in a hurry with my skin intact.
Not everyone has the same facility
with words or the humor that I somehow received when my parents’ DNA hooked up. It’s gotten me out of a jam or two,
some of my own making.
Often we do not consider that we are self-publishers with access
to a forum that can be heady, self-absorbing, and fragile,
and which has the power to elevate as well as destroy. It is the
perfect narcissist’s tool for projecting onto
any and all who will listen. I have found myself thankful for the
block option a time or two when my personal boundaries have been breached.
What
works for one, will not work for another.
Everyone
has the capacity to create an Internet Heaven
or
dive into a Social Media Hell.
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| Another Golden Sky © Lora Fisher Photography |
My concern is for those not fully formed: the young
ones without the wisdom or guidance to fend off assaults to their fragile
egos, and who are often victims of circumstance, cliques, and pure
meanness. I'm grateful to those who work to protect them: the teachers,
parents, social workers, and law-enforcement officials who have dedicated
a good portion of their lives to being on the side of the vulnerable.
If one subscribes to the belief, substantiated by science, that
“thoughts are things” and have mass and polarity, then I suggest that we all
practice random thoughts, as well as acts, of kindness. Even this essay has the power to affect the layer-cake conversation upon which most of us seem to thrive.
Simply stated:
Let’s use it for the good.
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| Garden Qu’an Yin © Lora Fisher Photography |
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