It doesn’t take
a rocket scientist to grasp this concept. Newton’s Third Law of Motion:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Einstein improved
upon it, telling us every motion affects every other motion. In spiritual
terms, it’s called cause and effect.
Yet as basic as this concept is (you see it everyday in nature), it should come as no surprise that the law still
holds, even in our not-so-natural, materialistic, manmade world. Though some
(myself included) tend too often to overlook this.
I was thinking of cause and effect while watching
hoards of people line up (even sleeping on mall floors) awaiting the new iPhone.
Having recently purchased the older model (with learning curve still unfurling), I
marveled at these techies… the first to have the latest
technologies, and usually the ones we call (if kin to or friends with) to
explain something so basic as “How do I get my picture onto Facebook?”
It definitely takes all types, and I’m not here to pick
on these people, but rather observing, as one example, how things
like new iPhones serve to remind why life runs amuck for so many of
us, in large part thanks to devices such as these, sold to us with the notion of saving us time. More times than not I find them to invade my time, though
admittedly, I’m not ready to give mine up (poor, slacking 5c model that
it is).
No, I come to this reminder of cause and effect as I
think of my life, farm life in general, friends’ lives and societal life on the whole for
it seems that all of us, at one level or another, tend to forget that no matter
our avoidance of the subject, laws of nature are just that: Laws. Young/old, rich/ poor... gravity doesn't care. And Mother Nature waits for no one.
By way of iPhone cause and effect, I use as case in
point, my own recent purchase: Cause—I buy a new phone. Effect—I must LEARN this new phone (for me this means classes, one-on-one
instructions, online tutorials and yes, calls to my geek friends who waited in
long lines to have the newer model they insist I too should have. I ponder while watching these types, in their
lines what their own cause and effect formula looks like. True, they know the technology;
that drove them to want the phone in the first place, but when you buy the
latest, do you diss your last? Sell your last? Box your last? Or toss your last
in a drawer with the other “lasts”. Given that every cause has its effect, and
given most would rather focus on the cause, rather than process the time
consuming effect (other than the good stuff, like “Look! I have a new phone!”) Is ignoring effects what’s
leading to our hoarding shows, our rat-packed
drawers...our cluttered corners? (Meanwhile, who among us
hasn’t at one point asked, “When did this happen?” and/or “When will
I ever have time to organize or trash all this?”)
Not to pick on iPhone people…What’s true for phones is
true for goats is true for gardens. Cause: I buy a few goats (which I truly
adore). Effect: I must feed said goats (and feed said goats, and feed said
goats) until another cause is enacted, such as selling goats, or hiring help for
goats, or…simply keep on feeding, though to do so, means less time for writing,
running business matters, clearing the clutter in my corners, etc…etc..)
Same for gardens: Cause: planting seeds. Effect: Weed the
seeds; pick the plants…again, a litany of steps all resulting from one causal
action. Meanwhile I’m thinking “It was so much easier that day I just unplgged
and blissfully planted some seeds.”
The notion came front and center as I tripped over my
luggage from my weekend ( "day cation" (causal decision, for which had me packing it just 2 days prior. Cause: my decision to go (complete with gassing the car, lining
up help, packing said luggage, etc). Effect: my luggage…now at my door,
along side other items I've dropped when hitting home only to race into new causes
or the completion of other effects (such as resuming the goat-feeding schedule).
In short, we’re a culture that’s become cause heavy and effect lazy.
In truth, however, I’m not so sure we’re lazy…as much as
we’re mindless. (Heck, we’re the workingest bunch of people on the planet,
losing sleep, giving up Sundays, etc.) It would appear since the cause end of
the formula is so much more enticing…(Let’s face it: Madison Avenue doesn’t
sell us on the many frustrations that come with learning a new toy, or the aftermath of having gone away for a weekend. Their job
is to sell you on the fun part. Leave you hanging with the rest. That’s our problem... And to me, this is where the problem lies.
I look at my own life, and the many details I tend to each day, and yet it's those that don't get seen to that are backing up. I'm an idea a minute (which means a cause a minute), that
in the end, if not processed properly, only leads to feelings of guilt, worry
or overload. While inspired to launch into that fun end of the formula, such effects
as stacked dishes, cluttered corners, or unweeded gardens remain, staring me in
the face.
So to stay in motion (until someone figures out perpetual
motion) it occurs to me a little more thought on what causes bring with them,
and what time the effects might consume, might prove helpful, as I suspect all
feelings of overwhelm stem from my ignoring this otherwise.
Then again, what do I know?
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