A Room of Her Own--

I know that Virginia Woolf thought of the term--but I think this tool will allow all women everywhere to have that proverbial room of her own--to contemplate, to write, to discuss, and the beauty of it is --the room is in our own home, and we are in that place, and yet--we can have influence worldwide--this is so rich!! I am almost giddy with delight! Okay, so I am a late bloomer, or rather I am not Quick Draw McGraw--it takes me a while to 'get it,' and when I do I want to run outside and shake a tree or something. I have to thank my daughter, Sarah, because she has been doing this a lot longer, and encouraged me so much. I just loved going to her room and taking a look. This is better than email, better than the phone, and allows for better discussion, and real growth as a writer,

Friendly Persuasion

I cannot believe that I am actually doing this! For years, I have been frustrated by the media and their interpreting my culture, the world in which I live. I grew up in the 60s and 70s, a time when the news really was the news, and we were allowed to see all the images, and interpret on our own. We did not need a talking head, or a body language expert, (and what credentials does she have, pray tell?), or any other media mogul to come on and tell us what it all meant! We took it in and thought about it--and the images were largely unedited. We watched a dinner the burning child running in the street in Viet Nam, on the news. I think that our ability to interpret for ourselves, allowed for the Viet Nam War to come to a close--from pressure, those of us witnessing the events, put on the government. Now, I see this modern culture (in America) hooked umbilicaly to this matrix of internet/cell phone/podcasting/ and largely in need of thinking. Suffering under the effects of no child left behind education, they believe they are catching up and not left behind because they have an electronic instrument in hand--however, some idiot on TV must interpret events for them, because many of them do not know how to think!

But it is not just the youth. Many of us have become complacent, after all, why are we tuning in and listening to the talking head.? So, I am forced into this matrix in order to have a voice, to respond, to think, and record that I am alive and well, and still thinking! Oh, happy day! Maybe this is where I will find others, equally frustrated and still thinking largely, and actively analytical and logical. It is our forum, our release, and our taking control of a media gone wild. We can call them on the hype, we can redress their errors, and we will over come!

Slavery, and its manacles and chains, are alive and well still today. It comes disguised somewhat in our technologically driven society as anything faster, easier, quicker, prettier, cuter, tinier, a reworking of a new tool. Any thing that allows for gratification in an instant! But in what web are we then caught? I listened to a young student this past spring justify why he can text message while he drives, how his is a generation that must have response in an instant. I sat sadly as his instructor, and wondered what price he will pay for this belief? I asked him if he did not think that in each day that he lived he should have one small window of time that was his? Only his? A portion of time that only he owned, and spent on himself--maybe only in quiet thought or reflection? He looked at me like a deer in headlights, what? He asked me, I then responded that there are so many things in life that deserve careful thought, and attention. Yet, he was able to text, send, and cruise down the road without any thought. Didn't he think he was short changing himself? The class went up in an uproar--no, Ms. Greene, you don't understand, we're the new generation. We like everything fast, instantaneous. Yes, I replied, I am not so far gone that I do not remember my youth. However, I have always known, and in my life's experience found that there are many things, if taken slowly that are quite remarkable, satiating, and wonderfully enjoyable at a nice slow pace. Are you telling me that you are an entire generation that will never experience ROMANCE? Those capital letters are intended. Because at their rate, it will only be lower case, if ever experienced. What about watching that first child take his steps, or baking a loaf of bread whose rich aroma permeates the house slowly, blossoming each room with yeasty yummy fragrance? There are thousands of things in my life that I am glad I did them slowly. I know that there are many more undiscovered things, that as I come to them I will want to take them nice and slow--so that I can memorize the wonder of the event. However, I do recognize that we live in a world filled with busy-ness and driven by business, it places demands that must be met timely, and sometimes we mistake that for immediacy.

So, I come to this blog to make a formal call for a fullness of each moment. If it be a political thought--give me (and the rest of us) a full moment to take in the facts, and make my own response. I am not the village idiot, and I think the majority of Americans are capable, insightful citizens with the ability to formulate our own thoughts, and analyses and make judgements without the media idiot. I am also calling everyone dependent upon the cell phone, or internet, or television--to unplug, and inhale deeply in a moment of quiet and free thought. Take ownership of that moment, and expand.