I was 28 years old before I had a telephone in my home. If I wanted to make a call I would walk down the road to one of the bright red telephone boxes that were scattered throughout Britain at that time. In those days the windows were not broken by vandals and even the telephone book was usually intact.
When I was a young child the cost of a call was four pence and, on the rare occasion that I needed to use the telephone, I would walk down the avenue and head towards the main road. Gripping the large copper coins tightly in my hand, I would be filled with anxiety about all the things that could go wrong and even today a trace of uneasiness about the telephone persists. Mostly I see the phone as a necessary evil and I admit to forgetting to check my cell phone for days at a time. My friends know that in the main I don't talk too much on the phone and my preference is always to see the whites of someone's eyes when I am communicating.
Of course the telephone is a wonderful invention and has changed so much in our world for the better. But, like many things, it has its dark side and we are challenged to be thoughtful in our use of it and make more heartfelt choices.
Can we turn off the phone and be quiet with just ourselves? Can we withstand the urge to be in constant contact with someone, no matter who, so that we do not have to deal with difficult things in our lives? Can we be sensitive to the fact that others might not want to hear our conversation in a public place? Can we be with others and honor them enough to not answer the phone or even check it? Can we have the courage to tell the people we are with that we like to be with just them and not them and their phone?
Questions to ponder and live with!!
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