The Convenience of Modern Life

 

I am currently in a stage of nostalgia and attempts to distract myself from thinking too much about the past several weeks, so I have been thinking about our technological advances in my lifetime and in my parents' lifetime as well. I was watching a documentary that came up on my YouTube suggestions list (I wonder why this came up for me...I haven't been looking at these types of things before...) that was narrated by Walter Cronkite (famous newsman) all about predictions about life in the year 2001. It was interesting to see what folks thought would be happening in that year, long gone now. Some of the predictions were correct, some didn't happen until later, and others were completely wrong. This interests me - I am a person who thinks about the future of music therapy on a regular basis, so any sort of futuristic predictions are part of that construct.

One of my escapes over the past week has been writing a story. I am writing a book about music therapy (sort of) in a future time. It is a continuation of my Persephone series - that is the prelude to the story that I am writing right now. First comes Persephone, then comes the next part of the story. I am taking lots of liberties in this work of fiction, and it is so much fun to think through the "what-ifs" of music therapy in the future. I bet Walter Cronkite had the same sort of fun when he filmed the documentary of times past. It is fun to think about possibilities and then shaping your universe to make those possibilities happen.

This story is not anything that I will share until it is finished, but it is functioning as a great distraction from my grief and allows me to mourn a bit as well. I can pick it up when I am ready and not worry about how much time it will take for me to complete. It is just a bit of fun, so I can dive in and surface when I am replete.

I am getting ready to take my shower, get dressed in a dress that was brought to my house after I shopped over the internet, and then go to my job which still requires some live presence. My job will be sent to viewers all over the world (potentially), and then I will go to my local stores to pick up the food and items that I need. I ordered them from my home computer and could have arranged for someone else to bring them to me, but I need to be out in the world today and even the limited human contact that I will get from going to two stores to pick up stuff will be good for me.

Once I get back home, I have several computer-based tasks to organize and coordinate, including our first Monthly Music Therapy Meet. If you want to be part of those meets, then please fill out this form. Attendance is free, and I also have been approved to offer CMTEs for a cost, if you are looking for a way to earn some continuing education credits. I also have some tasks for the Online Conference for Music Therapy (happens next month - have you registered??) to finish so we are ready.

I can do all those things sitting in my own home, clicking some keys on a keyboard that is not physically linked to anything. The signals from this keyboard move through space and time to be interpreted and translated into specific letters and numbers. Isn't this a miraculous time? It is tremendous to me that all these things can be done. I am able to talk to people in real time, seeing their faces, and engaging in meaningful conversations all while sitting right here. I am in awe of what advances have happened over my decades of life, and I am looking forward to seeing what else happens.