After spending some time with my mother today, I thought it best to get caught up on some chores that have been waiting for my attention. Upon reading an article today about how the work ethic in America is diminishing, I started thinking about some of the people I am familiar with, and indeed I do believe many of us are being encouraged to become passive spectators. I’m finding fewer people being actively creative in even some of the simplest of forms. Whenever I am at someone’s home, I absolutely bristle inside when I find the residents not turning their television off while they have someone visiting. For me I find it a bit of an insult in that the television likely holds just as much importance as my visit.
I could go on for hours about how the professional sports have turned far too many Americans into couch potatoes. No wonder we have weight problems in nearly all age groups. Not so many days ago I was on the rampage about the impression visitors to our city would have got if they had caught a glimpse of what I happened to see while driving down a street late last Summer. There was a very stout young woman seated on an upholstered sofa that was on an open front porch. In one hand she was playing with her smart phone. On her lap was a large plate of what appeared to be spaghetti, and with the free hand, she was picking up the spaghetti with her fingers and shoveling it in her mouth. I was absolutely shocked by the laziness as well as the lack of shame.
Someone commented about how I appear to be always working. Perhaps they consider being in motion a form of work. I know we all need our down time for relaxation and re-generation, but it needs not continue for days, weeks and even years. I have a dear client living in another city who is likely busy from the time she gets up until late in the day. When she’s not working her normal job, she is out doing for others or in her beautiful garden. Do you ever wonder what many of the retirees do in their homes day in and day out? Several come to mind who rarely go outside and do minimal maintenance on the lawns and exteriors of their homes.
I can’t imagine why people don’t spend more quality time outdoors in their yards during the Summer. Perhaps technology has convinced us to stay indoors and become all the more passive in front of the computers and televisions. With lifestyles like these, how can anyone consider each day special? For them, it’s just another day.
