New Snowfall: Start Fresh

The Story

Its the week after Christmas, and gifts and treats have been exchanged and opened. Visits with family and friends are complete. The weather which had been cold, created a new blanket of snow covering everything in a blanket of white.

I found myself noticing the cleanliness, the crispness, the clarity and simplicity of the natural environment in my surroundings. It led to an interesting discussion about what makes snow squeak beneath the feet at certain times. (While not strictly on topic for this week's post - its interesting to note that our research uncovered that the sounds may be related to the crushing of the larger crystals which form in colder temperatures.)

As the temperatures rose today, the Christmas snow began to melt. The ground became slushy and muddy, and then the snow disappeared all together. As the cool brown, blue, and grey colors once again colored the December landscape I heard a few folks remark on how messy things appeared.

The Technology

Recently a friend was having trouble with her iPhone. It had frozen and she decided to try and reset the phone to a previous backup stored on her computer. With the restoration complete, she was dismayed to see that every app she had ever purchased (many which she had deleted) had reappeared on her iPhone.   

She next attempted to go through the apps on her computer one by one, removing items no longer needed, so that they would no longer reinstall themselves on her phone. Unfortunately, the deleted apps again reappeared when she attempted to restore the phone from a previously backed up version.

After a visit to the phone store and then the Apple store, she wound up replacing the malfunctioning phone with a new one. Attempting to set up the new phone using the most recent backup, she again found many applications reinstalled which had been deleted. Her situation now appeared to call for a different approach.

Connections

The metaphor of the new snow, as opposed to the thawed landscape of this post's story, holds some potential wisdom for us all in working with new technologies. With any new tools we purchase, be it a replacement for a failed computer or the addition of new device, we may want to steer clear of reusing sloppy leftover messes. In the spirit of fresh snow, it may prove more beneficial to mindfully begin with a clean slate. 

My mentor once gave me some excellent advice about our technologies. She suggested that when a device dies we can choose see it as an opportunity to lighten the load - by letting go of people or things that are no longer in alignment with our current priorities. By starting over fresh, adding back only the needed apps, documents or contacts, we can more consciously create a simple, clean pathway forward in the future.

In the case of my friend's new iPhone, she attempted to restore the phone to a previous version - to a version that was comparable to the muddy melted slush. Prior to the crash, she had actually been talking about having too many apps and photos on the phone and the need to lighten up. Now with a brand new device, she actually has the opportunity to begin again with a blank slate - mindfully choosing to install just the items which currently match her current needs. 

As we finish out the old year and welcome the new, I wish my friend success in beginning with her new phone - in finding fresh way forward.  And success to us all as we strive to be more mindful with our technologies in the coming year and beyond!

Images courtesy of Pixabay:  www.pixabay.com 

Spaniel & Master: Tuned Out or Tuned In?

The Story

A few weeks ago I passed a man and is dog going in the opposite direction - twice - on the circuitous path! I don't know about you, but any time I see the same thing more than once it puts me on notice to take a bit of a deeper look. So I investigated the imagery available from this early morning scene with bit more care.

It was a beautiful, unlikely, and sparkly morning. Having been cold the past few nights, this morning the air was much warmer and the leaves were giving off a last brilliant show of color to match! The clouds were fluffy and feathers like against the brilliant blue sky. The man and his dog I mentioned appeared to be out for their daily morning ritual walk. The man was dressed casually, a ball cap pulled down low over his dark sunglasses. He also had earbuds in, apparently listening to something on the phone or iPod stowed away in his pocket.

His dog, a black and white spaniel, was tucked neatly at his master's side - the halti and leash appeared almost unnecessary because of the dog's responsiveness to his master's every movement.  The dog trotted along, bouncing beside his master! With every step the dog seemed to express a joyful gliding focus - reminder to me about being fully present in the beauty of the moment.

The Technology

With the holiday less than a week away, many of us are undoubtedly working overtime to purchase gifts, wrap, decorate, bake, or send cards to loved ones. Its likely that for many of us, our technologies feel just as much of a burden. How many of us are thinking about a few days off for Christmas or New Years as the time when we will finally get caught up with our backlog of emails, or cleaning out our inbox or files saved on the desktop? Or as the time when we will weed out the plethora of apps bogging down the memory of our smartphone?

Image courtesy of:  www.pewinternet.org

It seems that nearly all of us have some sort of technology at this point. The Pew Internet and American Life project shows that as of October this year, 91% of adults over 18 have a cell phone.  The full article on mobile device ownership of other devices can be found by following the link above. Suffice it to say -  as Americans we have a lot of technology in our pockets. Much of it is likely be in use at some point during the holidays.

As we head in to Christmas and New Years, I wonder how many of us will crash on the couch for a few days, completely exhausted - not only from over activity, but from the strain of our daily technology use. Certainly a movie, watched together with family has the potential to bring us together. But how many of us though, will use our technologies to escape over the holidays? How many of us will rely on our technologies, new or old, to mindlessly tune out rather than tune in, because of a desire to avoid family conflicts or just from sheer exhaustion?

Connections

I can see plenty of connections to the man walking his dog, and our use of technology over the holidays. My first bit of advice to us all is: "Take off the hat and dark sun glasses." Who are we hiding from really? The holidays can actually provide us with a great opportunity to become mindful in the ways in which our technologies help us to avoid seeing things or being seen. I suggest we take a break from our technologies and really look at our family and friends - and allow them to see us as who we truly are.

Image courtesy of :  www.pixabay.com

My second connection and recommendation is: "Turn off the iPod."  During the holidays as we work to give our full attention to those we love, we will want to work on listening.  Our iPods keep us tuned out. When was the last time you really listened to someone talking to you, or felt that someone you love was really listening to you? My final bit of advice to you - and to myself is:  "Notice your dog, get up, get out and enjoy the clouds and the sunshine!"  With such hectic schedules, its critical to our health and mental state to get out often for fresh air and exercise.  Those with dogs are lucky, they already have the ready made reminder of being fully present in nature!

In this holiday season, magic and beauty abound, if we only pause to notice.  From a pristine snowfall at sunrise, to the sweetness of homemade cookies. From the joyful voices of children opening gifts, to the cozy warmth of a pre-dawn bed - the season abounds with chances to be fully present to the senses. I wish for you all some time to truly unplug and reconnect with your family, friends, and loved ones.  Many blessings for a mindful New Year!

Crow Calls: Is Anyone Listening?

The Story

It was very cold out this morning. So cold in fact, I thought about not taking a my usual morning walk. But something tugged on me, urging me up and out. And so and I bundled up and headed out into the brisk morning air.  

Are you certain that no one is listening?

About three-quarters of the way through my jaunt I heard a crow calling directly overhead. I stopped and looked up into the early morning sky to see a single crow. The crow was sitting very close to the top of the tree, cawing every so often. As he vocalized his morning message I listened carefully - there appeared to be no other responses in return - that no one was listening to his message.

I found myself listening more intently to the calls. Each caw, sounded to my ears to be virtually the same as the other before it. I then found myself counting the calls, listening for a pattern. This led me to some thinking about the importance of the number of caws, the shape and length of each call, the lack of response from another crow. I then wondered about the possible message this particular crow was sending to various listeners in its vicinity.

The Technology

A few years ago I had a chance to collaborate with a young high school student while she was working on her college applications. As she looked at various universities, she identified a particular program which matched her particular vision for how she would like to work as an adult. The program also offered generous scholarship opportunities for a select few students, which would help my friend to afford the costs of the education she hoped to acquire.

The trail left behind sends a message about you.

As we worked on refining her application letter, to truly convey her unique skills and passions, we also talked about the concept of digital footprints.The equivalent of the trail left behind on the Internet, allowing others to see where you have been, the review of student's digital footprints are increasingly becoming part of the college admission review processes.  

While looking at ways to clean up her image (her Tweets and Facebook posts were much far more benign than many teens nowadays)  we also talked about more mindful posting. We first took time to look at the scholarship applications and then at her selected program's online presence. We talked about her current online image and how it compared to the kind of student that the program illustrated in its promotional materials. We wrapped up the conversation with some brainstorming about how to market her skills and achievements, related to the mission of the scholarship program.

Connections

Twitter, and its proliferation of short (40 words or less) and instantaneous messaging to a broad audience seems to have a logical connection both parts of today's metaphor - beyond the immediate the bird connections. Many of us use Twitter as a mechanism to "call out" to one another without knowing if anyone in particular is listening at all. I would caution that the assumption so many make that: "no one cares or that no one is really listening," is not only lacking mindfulness, it can create unintentional limitations to what is possible. 

Create a mindful reflection of who you are.

My high school friend started her clean-up process by eliminating superfluous and random Tweets - the ones that were of a more personal nature. She then created a mental image of the adult she'd like to become and we identified some strategies for Tweeting from that point forward with that image in mind.  I believe she began to realize, as I have in my own mindful exploration of technology tools, that the total sum of your Tweets (or any other digital musings for that matter) can come to define (or potentially misrepresent) you as a person, to the myriad of others who are watching and listening. 

The crow of my morning walk illustrated to me the importance of consciously monitoring the number, frequency, duration, content, and patterns in our use of tools such as Twitter. Even if we "don't speak crow," I belive we can each become more mindful of the messages we are sending and the image others create of us, by regularly reviewing our digital footprints.  By beginning to clean up messages which either define us two narrowly or inappropriately and creating a mental image of where we would like to go, we may each create a more mindful reflection of who we are through our use of social media tools.

Images courtesy of Pixabay:  www.pixabay.com

Airplane & Crow: Many Ways of Viewing

The Story

Every so often the local airport changes its typical flight patterns, rerouting planes on their final landing pass over my neighborhood. Picture this: one afternoon I heard the rumble before I actually saw the low flying jet. Looking towards the sound, I was greeted by a plane in a landing pattern, combined with the additional image of a crow, that visually appeared only slightly smaller and to be following the plane.

Image courtesy of: http://catbirdcraft.blogspot.com

The two images - plane and crow - were not particularly unusual in and of themselves. What was remarkable however, was the combination of the two forms sharing the same space and moment in time and appearing related because of proximity and relative size. The plane, at its higher altitude appeared to be leading the pair as it turned from the east to the south on its approach to the airport. The crow, appearing to be nearly the same size as the plane because of its lower altitude, was also traveling in an easterly flight pattern.

Frozen in time for a brief moment, the two appeared to me to be flying in formation. Man-made, technological flight was metaphorically leading the very natural elements which previously inspired its creation. The deep connections available in exploring the combination of these two images have stirred my imagination. I have, and will continue to explore their interaction, allowing many personal metaphorical translations to unfold.

The Technology

On the heels of last week's post, I've continued thinking more about mindfully unplugging, the notion of taking digital sabbaths, and more deeply about bringing awareness to our relationship to technology. I discovered a new book by author Alex Soojung-Kim Pang entitled "The Distraction Addiction." While the title appears to disdain the use of technology, the book's message does not match its cover. Alex's academic efforts to promote the notion of "Contemplative Computing" are remarkably broad, and very compatible with my own interests in encouraging "Mindful Technology" use.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

I've noticed over the years, a propensity for writers and scholars to create models to explain the complex relationships formed between technology and its users.  One model used to describe the adoption of technology employs the broad categories of: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. An adapted model uses the same terms and adds in the additional notion of a chasm between the early adopters and early majority.  Commonly used by groups who strategize ways to launch new products or initiatives, these models are potentially a challenge because of the value judgements inherent to their chosen labels.

And then there the plethora of terms such as: luddite, geek, digital native, and digital immigrant, which seek to describe or categorize the identifying characteristics of technology users.  Blogger Liz Walter has penned an interesting post about "New Words in Technology" describing the way in which technology is constantly inspiring the creation of new language to attempt to describe it. In choosing singular words to describe concepts, we risk potentially judging or alienating whole groups of people. I wonder if we've somehow missed the point.

Connections

In the example of the plane and the crow I have found many ways to personally describe connections. I can imagine one as the leader the other a follower. I can also can compare the two by acknowledging their attributes - one being man-made, the other being alive. In the metaphorical image, because of its unusual juxtaposition, there are no singular labels to describe the two and relationships between. The connections are complex and had to be constructed from my prior knowledge. My interpretations of the metaphor are not the only possibilities. I wonder how you as the reader engage with the image - what connections are created in viewing the crow and plane as a metaphor for your relationship to and with technology?

Image courtesy of Pixabay: http://pixabay.com

The roots of the innovation adoption lifecycle model may have arisen from a similar need to my own. Perhaps from the author's desire to describe and share his perceptions of technological experiences - or perhaps to encapsulate those discovered by collecting data - with others. In thinking about the plane/crow metaphor, juxtaposed with the cycle of innovation model, I see an important caution for us all. All too often we get overly excited with our created models - promoting them as a singular truth versus encouraging dialogue. In looking at the plane/crow metaphor I found myself unable to settle on a single message as turned the image around in different ways. Each time I looked, I gained insight into additional truth to be uncovered. As I examined the relationships between the pair, in relative size, flight position, direction, composition, relationship, etc, I gained new insights on our relationship to and with technology.  I was unable to see the image as a singular descriptor of how things are.

Technology is here to stay and I believe that our relationships will continue to evolve in connection to our tools.  I also believe that images as metaphors can provide us with a more robust method for viewing ourselves and the worlds of others. They provide us with a chance to see the connections with new eyes, and to engage with others in a dialogue about the relationships. Models, on the other hand, seem to encourage us to agree in a singular way upon how things are. I advocate for the mindful use of image as metaphor - allowing us to individually and collective turn images over in our minds. Examining and sharing the co-created connections from various viewpoints, we'll grow far more than we ever could by just adopting a singular way of thinking.

Red Tailed Hawk: Choosing Your Perch

The Story

the "highest perch"

Down the street from my home is a small neighborhood tennis court. One morning I noticed a large red tailed hawk take off from the corner of the fence that surrounds the court. I enjoy watching birds of all types, especially hawks, so I stepped off of the main road and headed down a gravel access path to get a closer look at the bird.

He had flown to a nearby tree, to a limb approximately 40 feet from the ground. As I stood there the hawk flew up to a higher perch and then a few moments later to a limb a bit higher. Over the course of these three upward movements, he increased his vantage point by approximately 20-30 feet.  

The red tail sat on this top limb for a few moments before flying even further back into the wintry woods to the top of an oak that still held its leaves. As I stood and watched, the hawk settled into its highest perch. We stood in silence for many moments before I turned to complete my morning constitution, allowing him to return to his unobserved business of the day.

The Technology

social networking platforms

They are so common today, it may surprise you to know that the most commonly used social media platforms have been around for less than 10 years! Facebook was launched in 2004 (its predecessor MySpace launched in 2003), Twitter in 2006,  LinkedIn in 2002, and Instagram and Pinterest in 2010. In education, and in for-profit and non-profit sectors, many are exploring the potential that each tool has to create connection, promote ideas, and convey meaning to others on a global scale.

As hardware has evolved from larger desktop machines to laptops and hand-held devices, our interface platforms have adapted to fit as well. We have moved from the use of licensed software based applications, to web-based tools and now to mobile apps. Tools which once served a singular purpose are now multifaceted devices.

The pace at which technology has changed is exponential. Keeping up with devices and applications can, even for the most techno-savvy at heart, feel daunting. Mindful investigation and selection of tools and social media platforms, paired with a strategic plan of use (or non-use), can help you to find your way.

Connections

"Mindful Technology" Pinterest board

Seeing the red tailed hawk reminded me of some of the personal processes I've used in exploring and choosing social media.  I have intentionally taken my time to explore each platform, its vantage points, locating appropriate uses before committing to use them. One mechanism I am currently using to help me to gather and evaluate new platforms and their purposes is a Mindful Technology board on Pinterest. It allows me to curate info-graphics, articles, and other resources related to new technologies, their potentials, and uses - sharing them in a web-based, visual manner. The resources there may help your process as well.

I have also identified three potential "vantage points" (from the red tailed hawk metaphor) which can support a balanced understanding of social media. The first is "on the move."  Related to the hawk's movement from the fence to the first tree, it represents our use of social media to communicate with others while we are in transit from one place to another.  All of the social media platforms mentioned above now have applications (apps) which can be used on a tablet or smartphone to share brief updates. Its up to us to decide if we will check our social media while out and about, or wait until we are at a stationary location. The second metaphorical comparison we can make is that of "levels."  Related to the hawk's movement up the same tree to a higher vantage point, we have the ability to choose to utilize social media at low, medium or high levels. I believe it is important to recognize a propensity to be "sucked in" by our technologies and to make a mindful choices about how much time and energy we will devote each day.  Finally, the metaphor of "deep cover" relates to the hawk's choice to retreat to the tree where leaves were still present, providing camouflage.  With the preponderance of technology available to us nearly every place we go, I believe it is critical for us to make choices related to intentional unplugging.

For those interested in the notion of unplugging, you may enjoy visiting the National Day of Unplugging website. Not all agree with the movement towards creating "digital sabbaths." My thoughts are always return to the idea of mindfulness - to the noticing of our use of technology, to deciding where we might like to change, and finally to making informed responses from that place of knowing. Good luck with your own mindful explorations of social media!

Social media image courtesy of Pixabay: http://pixabay.com