You Are Special

PUTTING THE HUMAN BACK INTO BEING

 In recent years, it seems we, with our infinate wisdom, thanks to ever increasing and advancing technology, have managed to all but eliminate the “human” connection in the workplace. It has become very commonplace now to walk into virtually any major service corporation and find, in some cases hundreds upon hundreds of “cubicles” ….with a person inside… Each cut off from the other by sight, touch taste, smell and to the best of corporate’s ability…sound.  Even though the corporation may have thousands of employees… to the person in the cubicle, he/she is an isolate.

As technology advances at a staggering rapid rate, people are indeed connecting more …electronically, and far LESS  humanistically. No wonder lounges and bars are filling up, and dating services are ever increasing. Individuals are STARVING  for that human connection….to touch… and be touched…to hold, to feel…to share experiences, to laugh together, These are the very things that separate us from machines. Yet, we in our infinate wisdom have managed to eliminate them not only from the workplace but in daily life as well. Heaven forbid you should make direct eye contact with someone at the supermarket, you are either a stalker, pervert or at the very least, someone they need to quickly get away from.  How absolutely sad.

I had the honor of being the legal guardian for an extraordinary man, who was not only my friend, but a mentor. In his last couple of years, fast approaching ninety, he was confined to a “Rest Home” where I would visit him weekly. Paul was a true gentleman and a very decent human being who savored the “human connection” . Even though he was physically confined to a “facility” he was always sure to socialize with the other residents, sharing stories and laughter best he could.  

I remember getting a call in the middle of the night…” Mr. Giampapa ?” after acknowledging and finding out it was the “Home” calling, I asked what the problem was and got the reply….” We found Paul in bed…again, with another lady.” After trying to wipe the smile off my face, positive that the nurse could see it through the phone, I got into a discussion with her about how one by one, as we get older, we seem to get stripped of, not only our possessions, our car, our house, our fancy clothes, but our dignity as well. The very things that make us human. To touch, to feel, to kiss, to hold, to hug. These things are “food for the soul”  without them we become an empty shell.

Evidently I did a pretty good job of explaining, because she said she totally agreed with me…however, the woman he was in bed with was married and they didn’t want to be responsible for the explanation should the woman’s husband walk in on them.  So, long story short, she respectfully asked permission to increase his “medication” to help him become “less amorous”.  It wasn’t long after that, that Paul passed away.

Mark Twain once remarked that “…a person who doesn’t read, is no better off than a person who can’t read.   Bottom Line ?… since   technology advancements do much to make our lives seemingly simpler, they simply cannot do what each of has the power to do and that is put back the human connection  every chance we get. We have that power. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we choose not to use it.