HOW DID WE GET SO CRAZY?

As I was cleaning out a dresser drawer recently, I came upon an old photo of my parents. The photo was taken when they were seated at a dinner table with other family members. At this time, my parents had just become engaged and their mutual gazing into each other's eyes spoke volumes without words. Their love-locked look spoke to me about their hopes, wishes, and dreams as I could feel their presence so alive in that old photo. The table was covered with delectable food ready for feasting. Candles, wine glasses, and squeezed-in seating were all brilliant signs of a happy celebration in the making.

I pondered over this picture that I might soak up its reminiscent healing and loving essence. Every face and gesture captured carried its own private story that my heart still holds and feels robustly. Truthfully, the scene could have been any Sunday, holiday or anytime someone "came over" for dinner. This was our routine and ritual.

As I further thought about those years, which is at least a half of a century ago, I allowed myself to drift more and more into the rhythm and ways of that time. My father worked, as did my grandfathers. Mothers and grandmothers were home then, managing, caring for all household tasks. We didn't have a lot; we just had each other, our traditions, and rituals. Our recipe for life seemed almost predictable, although no one seemed to mind.

Even though this image may sound like a snapshot from "Pleasantville," our lives were not without issues. My mother's heart carried to her grave the pain of the death of her first child. My maternal grandfather lost everything in the Great Depression. My father lost a brother at an early age due to polio. My great-grandfather could drink too much, even though no one would ever talk about it. And my aunt's "wise guy" husband had a "heavy hand" over her that we also never discussed.

Certainly, it wasn't perfect. No life ever is. Yet we had great love and celebrations. My paternal grandfather, Papa Migo, loved the latest inventions and loved being the first on the block to have each new one as well. I remember clearly when Papa got the newest color TV. Wow! What a celebration that was! At least 20 of us gathered and crowded into the living room to watch, of course, Ed Sullivan. And yes, that did become a Sunday ritual.

Although those times were filled with both trials and triumphs, what I don't remember is the agonizingly rapid pace of life that now is our accepted normal.

It seems our daily mantra has become a struggling internal murmuring that is saying, "it's so hard to just keep up with everything." Since the onset of television, the pace of technology and information obviously has progressed even beyond scientists' and inventors' wildest imaginings. We have moved from one television and a rotary phone in most homes to an iPhone, computer, social media, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fitbit, and a must-have device called the Apple Watch. Whew! How did that happen and mostly in the last 20 years?

Over and over, moment to moment, we are now bombarded with information whether we like it or not. Some of the data deluge is useful and allows us to truly become a more global community. Unfortunately, some information is overkill marketing and advertising. Yet perhaps the most detrimental use of technology might be the constant displays of fear-based and violent eruptions in the daily news reports. Certainly some may argue that we need it to remain informed so that we can stay apprised of life's events. This opinion can continue with a defense that demands a need for more information in order to secure and make intelligent decisions concerning family needs, finances, lifestyle adjustments, career choices, and politics, just to mention a few categories.

For sure, there is good evidence that proves the more we can know, the better the discernment and its effectiveness. However, it appears that the information overload into our daily lives may have created an actual addiction. So many of us need the connection to information through constant attachment to our various devices. Through iPhones, iPads, Facebook, and other forms of social media, we seem to be endlessly "checking in and connecting" in cyberspace, even it if isn't truly necessary. Scientific research provides much evidence supporting the reality of just how addicted we may be to the constant attachment to and use of these devices when we observe the behavior of individuals once technology has been removed from their environments for a designated time. The results range from discomfort to anxiety and even dysfunctionality.

Obviously, the answer to our stress-filled lifestyles is not to remove technology or its flow of information. Both are here to stay and advanced innovations are certain.

The concern is who have we become over the last 20 years due to this tech boom? Did we really become better? Did it really help us to connect more? Are we better communicators? Did it make our families and relationships closer? And ultimately, did it make the world a safer place?

These questions are intended to stir our thought process. I am sure there can be doubt and certainty in equal proportions as to the pros and cons of our steadily progressing age of information. In truth, that may not be an issue anyone can ever succinctly clarify. However, what we can do is evaluate how these mammoth changes with all the plusses and minuses have affected us personally.

That is the focus of this writing. Perhaps it's time to look at who we have become as individuals. Are we more joyful? Are we heartfully satisfied? Do we feel safe and grounded? Do we trust there is a Divine Presence within us that can and will direct and guide us regardless of outside daily events?

These are the issues we will address throughout this book. Even though our lives no longer seem to have a routine script or formula, and it can appear to feel like we are swimming in a sea of uncertainty, REAL JOY still exists.

It is my experience and observation that even though the rush of information and our inability to sufficiently process so much in any given day has contributed to our anxieties, fears, and addiction to "staying" informed, the real issue is not technology or its use by itself. The real issue, as I view it, is that through technology our attention has been progressively focused upon what's outside of us so disproportionately that for some our interior beauty and divinity have been either abandoned or viewed as a powerless aspect of ourselves.

Herein lies the core of our joyless lives. The more we focus outside of self, the less we will understand or connect with our inner dimensions of heart and soul.

True invincible power is within us. Our very breath is a divine gift. In every inhalation and exhalation, the Beloved Creator comingles into our cellular...