As the Day Grows Dim I Hear You Sing a Golden Hymn

Congratulations to the recently-married Joey Halbert for correctly naming "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots as the Thursday Song of the Day.

Part XVII (Luke's Response)

One thing that's definitely worth mentioning- we shouldn't be leery of technology to the point that we're kept from participating in it. Whenever new gadgets/technologies come along, there are always haters. The anti-facebook people, the anti-twitter people, etc. History will reveal that I used to be one of these. Hell, I didn't have a cell phone until I was a junior in college. But now I'm of the school which says technology, especially technology that encourages togetherness among people, is good.

Usually I'm not the best judge of how balanced I am. That is to say that often people around me are aware of my imbalances before I am. And it then falls on my friends (or others around me) to alert me of such things. That's a friend's responsibility and privilege. And as technology continues to advance, and we continue to tread in ever-new directions, maybe it's on us (we friends) to help each other achieve balance.

And it's not a one and done thing. It's not like, "well we've achieved balance, good thing we don't have to worry about that again." Balance is something at which we must continually work. That last sentence is certainly true of me. One of the duties of the principal (the person in question, for example, me) is discipline. For me to achieve balance, I'm not relinquished of the need of discipline.

So achieving some balance between ever-imposing/connecting technologies and solitude is a lot like with the rest of life. We need to work hard. And we need help.

I'd guess you and I are similar in that we both like earning our own way. That is, the above-mentioned about accepting help, receiving guidance from others about our personal levels of balancedness sort of strikes a dissonant chord within us. Personally I'd rather buy a car from an Iraqi auto manufacturer than accept any help of any kind from anyone. I can handle myself, dammit! It's this stupid self-dependence which will be my constant opponent in my pursuit of balance. I'm curious for your thoughts on this self-dependent attitude. Are you like this? Does the idea of accepting advice/help rub you wrong?