We usually measure time with clocks and calendars, but we can measure our life in other ways. We can number our friends, track the notches on our belts, and weigh our decisions on the scales of wisdom.
Another interesting way to track your life is tracing the evolution of things you use every day, such as the telephone. I have to smile as I remember the first, black telephone that hung on our wall, and contrast it with today’s phone.
Telephones used to ring; now, they sing.
Telephones used to be a luxury, now a necessity.
You used to forget about the phone once you left the house, but now you remember to go back and retrieve it.
Once you looked forward to getting away from the telephone; now you feel helpless without it.
Once the phone was attached to the wall; today it is attached to you.
Once, you could take pictures of your phone, and now you take pictures with your phone.
Once you sat by the phone, now it sits by you.
You used to hear people say they would call as soon as they could get to a phone. Now, they say they will call as soon as they get a signal.
You used to leave your phone to get the mail, but now your phone reads the mail.
A phone used to last into the next decade; now, only until the next upgrade.
Once, you answered the phone to discover who’s calling; today you see who’s calling to decide if you answer.
You used to teach children how to use the phone. Now, they teach you.
It’s a fascinating time to be alive, no matter how you measure it. Gotta go. My phone is singing.
“A time to weep, and a time to laugh.”
Ecclesiastes 3:4