Crazy Lazy….

Have you ever thought about what a crazy lazy society we are anymore?  We don’t have to do ANYTHING for ourselves anymore including taking blame for our actions.  I mean it takes a bit of effort to point the finger, but that doesn’t seem to be an inconvenience on any level to many!

We have become a society of modern day conveniences that literally take care of ever aspect of our lives.

I wonder if they knew, back in the late ’40s when they started creating items of convenience, let’s take the frozen dinner for example,  how quickly the movement would go and change how we live forever.  I wonder if they realized the fallout, or were they just thinking of the small picture of lining their pockets?

I was talking to my daughter the other day when we were at Disneyland about how interesting it is to see so many people who are either obese, or using motorized scooters to get through the park. It’s not a diss to overweight people, because I myself have gained over the years and it really caused me to reflect on how we got here as a society.

My mind shifted back to the late 1800s when everything was done by hand.  Hard labor. There weren’t machines to do the work, people had to do the work.  When they came home at night, there would be a meal on the table that no doubt took hours to prepare as there were no foods of convenience.  And as there were no cars readily available, one would have to get to the stores by walking, or horse or horse drawn carriage.

There.were.no.shortcuts.  And as a result, the people were leaner and more capable.They attended church, they worked hard and there was little time off.

Kids were taught at an early age that they had to help around the house.  And as a result, they grew up knowing how to cook, and clean and fix things that needed fixing.  They used tools and if they hit their thumbs with a hammer, they learned real quick to be more careful in the future.  The went to school and they learned and they earned good grades and when their schoolwork was done, they helped around the house until it was time to say their prayers, thank God for what they had and go to bed.  They grew up with respect.  They grew up humble.  They grew up probably wanting little….

Fast forward to current day.  We have cars, so you barely have to walk 5 feet from your house.  We have drive thrus so you don’t have get out of your car, or cook for that matter. We have frozen foods that you can NUKE in minutes not hours and you can take your plastic containers and throw them in the trash, so there are no dishes.

Nowadays, if you want to get activity, you have to go to the gym.  If you want to talk to your kids, you can text them from the other room.  If you want food, you can order it online and have it delivered, AND if you play your cards right, you can have the cleaning lady put the stuff away and throw her an extra few bucks for the effort.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO US??

We seem like we barely keep our heads above water and never have time.  But we are the unhealthiest we have ever been because we have so many conveniences afforded to us that we barely have to lift a finger!

This got me thinking about when I actually make dinner from scratch.  When my kids ask for Chicken and Dumplings, it’s a 3 hour process between cooking and deboning the chicken (because I want the whole bird boiling for flavor), time to make the dumplings, then throwing the dumplings in the pot and adding all the other ingredients to make sure it tastes just right.  By the time we sit to the table to eat, I’m exhausted….but happy.  It’s worth the effort, but it’s effort indeed.

My kids don’t really know how to cook, because there are so many items of convenience, it’s practically done for them.

I’m sad that my children will never experience some of the hard core things that I grew up having to do.  I learned to work on my own car (it was a VW, so I just needed rubber bands), and had to clean the house to get money for a candy bar, and when I got the money, I either walked or rode my bike to the store.  I had to talk on the phone with everyone around because the cord wasn’t long enough to ‘hide’.  I learned to drive a stick shift, because that was the car I was presented with and I was happy to learn.  Even as far as 30 years ago we were still doing many things manually, like riding bikes.  But nowadays, kids who are left on their own to ride around on bikes are looked at as neglected children…

I know we consider ourselves fortunate to have these modern day conveniences, but I dare ask you, what is the cost of what we created?  The real cost in the quality of our lives.  I think computers are amazing…for what they have been created for back then.  But had I known ‘back then’ that these computers will eventually be shrunk down to the size of the palm of my child’s hand so I will never get to see her or talk to her, I can dare say I’d have changed my mind on the level of excitement.

We are becoming a disconnected, entitled society who are always looking for the next best and the latest and greatest.   We have lost our ability to be content human beings.  Compassion is flying out the window and the lynch mobs are growing greater in number by the minute.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, but it’s a small slice into what I have noticed in the last decade alone.  It really bums me out so all I ask is that you take a moment and ask yourself what the real cost is.  And is it worth it?

It’s not going to change anything but maybe your perspective…for a few minutes…. but that’s alright by me.