While reading material by Ron Martoia I was struck by a concept he was using - Skimming...
"I think this skimming is an indicator of our inability to go deep.And when you skim, there is a numbness that happens."
My take on his stuff is that technology that was created to help us become more efficient, has really become what bogs us down. This has created life density. With more and more technology we have less and less time to go in depth...Twitter, Email, Blogging, Heytell, fill in your favorite technological short burst information gathering fix! Because of the diversity of information available we choose to get it in short bursts - skimming verses going in depth, or at least we run the risk of this happening.
Then I remembered Ron telling us that we should seriously consider adding quiet time to our daily spiritual lives just as the monastics have for what seems like forever. He also noted, as I have to many in my churches, it's good to have a day away from technology periodically, at least Email, Cell Phone, Twitter, etc...
Funny thing is, that as this information arrived, I found myself in the middle of a great monastic documentary called "Into Great Silence" on Netflix. It's 161 minutes of following Monks as they live out their lives in a cloistered community - and as the title notes - it's mostly silence. Seriously, except for calling the cats and chanting, it's silence. Unless you're into monasticism and spiritual disciplines, this documentary will not be for you! These men have taken this spiritual discipline of quiet time to another level!
I must admit that I do try to practice this spiritual discipline of having a quiet time,but I must also confess that I am a slave to Email and I text quite a bit. (I have refrained form having a Facebook account) I must also note that I am guilty of what Ron is referring to as skimming. I have also found that when I have a conversation void of technology with my wife or daughters it does go much more in depth and is more meaningful.
So, I like Ron's concept of skimming and I think that technology has its place. But be careful allowing it to create life density and shy us away from in depth meaningful moments in life.
That's just my take on it, your mileage may vary!
