Dependencies

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We all have people and things in our lives that we depend upon. Just as others may depend upon us, upon the things we do, how we care for them, or even the money we earn. And though we may not like to be dependent on someone or something ~ in reality we are. We may not even give it a lot of thought in every-day life; it is just one of those things that is this way...

The true nature of the dependency only shows itself in those times when the circumstances are such that we cannot depend on that which always was there. Rock solid. At the tips of our fingers. And when that happens, life can get complicated in a hurry!

Wondering how that works?
Then just for a moment imagine that for the next week or so you won’t have access to a computer...

No internet, no email, no Facebook, no chat-rooms. Banking either has to be done the old fashioned way; by going to an actual bank. Doing some quick research suddenly involves the yellow pages and a telephone.
And at that moment it hits you: You can do most of those things like browsing the internet, reading and sending your email, keeping track of your friends on Facebook on your smart-phone! Even an iPod-touch will suffice, as long as you have a wifi connection.

And before you know it, you are doubly dependent on your smart-phone.
But let’s think of what would happen without a smart-phone at hand while there is no access to a computer...

It is somewhat of a time-warp situation, as it brings us back in time some 20 or so years ~ to a time when messages were sent in hand written letters. It would take some time to write them; and then it would take another couple of days ~ or weeks ~ for the letter to get to its destination; dependent on how far away that destination was. Telephone calls were easy, yet moderately expensive; especially when calling abroad.
In other words, keeping track of friends, sending and receiving messages ~ business related or otherwise ~ took time. Lots of time.

In our lives today we are used to sending emails and receiving the reply the same day ~ or perhaps the next day. If it takes any longer, we get worried something is amiss.
We have become dependent on all kinds of instant communication ~ whether it is checking the news, browsing the web, or yacking with our unseen friends in chat-rooms.

And it is surprising ~ or at least it was to me when I found myself in that situation ~ how easily we can be thrown off our daily routines when something like that~ something we depend upon ~ falls away...
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