Harriet and I love technology. Understand this. We don't understand one single thing about what makes it work.But, we love it anyway. So, we both have laptops, smart phones, iPods, webcams, iTunes, DVD players, e-readers, a couple of remote devices, and of course, Tootsie, our Wii game system. The Wii gaming device is used primarily for weight and body fat measurement, and exercise regimen. A couple of months ago a young friend told us that we could access NETFLIX, a movie rental service, through our Wii console.
Now, this is a great little device. The NETFLIX people sent us a disc, like the one pictured, which is used to stream video rentals straight into our television. This marvel has enabled us to watch six seasons of 24 to date, with the seventh season already downloaded. How does this thing work? Don't ask me. But, we like it.
One of the features got me to thinking. So, you can stop the action whenever you want, fast forward, go slo-mo, pause for a break, move to another feature, and pretty much watch what you like. For us, that is a bonus. But, while we're absorbed in the action, the program will occasionally pause, and a retrieval icon will come on the screen, a red bar that gradually fills while the streaming catches up. It says "retrieving...". It's like the brain has to catch up with what is on the screen.
Kind of like us humans at times. I find myseld retrieving a good bit lately, you know, pausing the action so I can catch up with what is happening around me. I mean, life moves at a new velocity these days. Most of us get caught in the flow of the traffic and never get to hit a rest area for even a brief moment off the clock. So, far too often we face the important decisions and situations of life without reflection or thought, analysis or deliberation. Technology accelerates the pace, increases the action, raises the need for retrieval systems. Once in a while we need to step off the treadmill, assess the motion, locate the mile-markers, identify the detours and obstacles. We need a retrieval bar to govern the flow of information into our fast-moving protocols.
I am wowed by the marvels of technology. But, once in a while we need some old-fashioned, out-moded deliberation to navigate these waters, you know, like "...think about such things..." (Philippians 4:8). Now, there's a novel idea, to pause for some retrieval time, to catch up to things, make adjustments as the pace quickens.
It's a lesson learned from one of my favorite techno toys. Thanks, Netflix!
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