Otherwise I feel as though I ought to have learned something from the experience, but I'm not sure I did. Walking at night by the light of the full but cloud-covered moon into my neighborhood when it was all dark was a weird experience, especially when one of our cats brushed against me. But it's not as if this was how the place looked at any time in the past. And, as one of my kids pointed out, we didn't exactly find out what life was like for people before they had electric power in their homes because they were used to living that way and we're not. It's good to take a break from normal life every once in a while though. I don't know that I appreciate electricity more now, but I do notice it, and our dependence on it, more. And noticing something under your nose that you usually overlook is a good thing.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Electricity
As alert readers of the blog might have gathered, we have power again after almost exactly a week without it. I enjoyed spending more time reading actual books and magazines rather than more or less random stuff on the internet, and will try to do more of this. We'll see how that goes. I really don't need to check my email or Facebook more than once or twice a day, but the possibility of hearing good news is often more of a draw than the possibility of learning something or just enjoying a good read. A wise person would be more patient, leaving any good news there might be till later (and of course usually there isn't any significant news, good or bad).
Otherwise I feel as though I ought to have learned something from the experience, but I'm not sure I did. Walking at night by the light of the full but cloud-covered moon into my neighborhood when it was all dark was a weird experience, especially when one of our cats brushed against me. But it's not as if this was how the place looked at any time in the past. And, as one of my kids pointed out, we didn't exactly find out what life was like for people before they had electric power in their homes because they were used to living that way and we're not. It's good to take a break from normal life every once in a while though. I don't know that I appreciate electricity more now, but I do notice it, and our dependence on it, more. And noticing something under your nose that you usually overlook is a good thing.
Otherwise I feel as though I ought to have learned something from the experience, but I'm not sure I did. Walking at night by the light of the full but cloud-covered moon into my neighborhood when it was all dark was a weird experience, especially when one of our cats brushed against me. But it's not as if this was how the place looked at any time in the past. And, as one of my kids pointed out, we didn't exactly find out what life was like for people before they had electric power in their homes because they were used to living that way and we're not. It's good to take a break from normal life every once in a while though. I don't know that I appreciate electricity more now, but I do notice it, and our dependence on it, more. And noticing something under your nose that you usually overlook is a good thing.
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That's a nice (and subtle) observation by your child. This is related to something that sort of bothers me about these benefits one sometimes see in which high school or college kids sleep outside for a night to raise awareness about homelessness. Awareness is good, but the idea that one night on the street teaches you what it's like to be homeless seems silly. Being homeless is more than being cold.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should explain that my final point is that what the students sometimes say about their experiences is rather silly, if (in other ways) innocent (and not so much their fault).
ReplyDeleteYes (and thanks). That kind of experiment would be worthwhile if someone really did go from being uncaring to sympathetic towards the homeless as a result. And that might happen. But I bet it's rare.
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