Is It Better?

Sometimes I drive in silence. I appreciate quietude. Though sometimes the silence I'm referring to doesn't happen by choice. Rather, it happens because technology is ahead of me. I suppose in theory it has always been ahead of me, yet for the most part, I've felt comfortable keeping up with it.

More often than not these days, I feel as though I’ve aged out of catching up with technology.

So now, when no sound comes out of my car radio, despite pressing buttons to no avail, I drive in silence.

My teenage self wouldn’t have believed it. In 1985, driving around with my FM radio blasting, I would have laughed (ok, I was a teenager, I would have balked) at the thought of driving a car without listening to music.

Today, my adult self has unlimited listening options. "It's so much better!" they say. Yet there I am: pushing buttons, plugging in the charger, unplugging it, turning off the radio, turning it back on, the volume all the way up while I brace myself for the explosion of sound once I get the radio to work.

And then, silence.

In these quiet moments of driving, I become lost in thought, chuckling at myself, pondering how this technology is ‘better.’ Better than my old car radio with a few stations? Better than shuffling through cassette tapes or CDs, rewinding and forwarding to get to a song I want to hear?

Ok, maybe it is better. After all, when it works, it is pretty awesome. I guess it’s in keeping up with constant ‘updates’ where I find myself challenged.

Technology is going to continue to advance. I am, too, yet the pace of my cognitive advancement may lag behind.

The question is constant: Do I accept it, or do I choose to battle?

I am choosing to see the gift: quietude, even in a moment when it is imposed, rather than invited. It’s an empowering choice to respond in this way.

And, ok, maybe I’ll ask my kids for help next time.

If you see me on the road, blasting my music and singing along, you now have insight into my thoughts on ‘how far we’ve come’ from my FM/tape radio to satellite radio and beyond.

The Jetsons showed us flying cars, life in the galaxies, and teleportation. I just want my music to play!

In chosen quiet moments,