We see pixels on a screen and hear the digital reproduction of someone’s voice and think, “I see them, they see me, and we can talk.” But when you get right down to it, there is no one there. It is an electronic and therefore artificial representation we are gazing at and talking to. This may be an entertaining way to pass our time, but when we are in real emotional pain, these electronic connections fall far short of the comfort and intimacy we yearn for. It is extremely difficult for technology to transmit the basic human warmth that we all need, and that we especially seek in our moments of pain.
When you are hurt, sometimes you just want someone to hug you. A flat screen cannot hold your hand and share your pain. Even if your loneliness is relieved by a text message or a smiling face on your screen, those data bytes can never fully replace the full vividness of direct contact with someone who is present with you physically and emotionally.
17th Karmapa
from the book
Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.
Further quotes from the book Interconnected :
- Thinking about the consequences of our collective actions
- Naturalness
- The workings of interdependence
- Being an interdependent individual
- Inner freedom is key
- The ability to experience genuine closeness
- Becoming stuck in a quagmire of self-obsession
- Enthusiastically benefiting whomever we come in contact with
- Our innate ability to connect with others
- Interdependence always works both ways
- Enjoying the goodness of what you are doing
- A Vast and Complex Web of Causality
- A greater sense of possibility
- Concealing our weaknesses
- Cultivating a spirit of generosity
- The impulse to connect
- Viewing others through the lens of interdependence
- Interdependent individual
- Bringing about real change in the world
- Experiencing connection rather than isolation