The other day, I ran across a great blogger, poet, and artist that at the time tickled my inner senses about the zombified effects these hand held screens can have on our life. You see, I just had to give my son Tommy a crash course lesson on social media etiquette when he got his first comment, which happened to be a pretty harsh criticism from a 10 year old YouTuber who thought my son was “weird.” You see, he made a great video double exposing his shadow as an introduction to a marvelous story of a child’s imaginary play.
He was crushed. While I had to work on his general feeling state and initial drive to retaliate, we got to a place where we could let the feelings of hurt go, take a high road, and be grateful for the comment received. He chose not to engage in some tit for tat childhood psychodrama that would continue to fuel animosity and division. Instead, he chose growth by practicing an assimilation of perspectives.
In Richard Thomas‘ wonderful poem Communication Breakdown, he speaks of a phone being broke, he explores the shadow side of today’s communication barriers and the need for instantaneous gratification through 5 GLTE. In this epitaph to the mighty Newtonian box of IM, Instagram, DM, and of course the lovely world of WP, he pays homage to his fallen comrade of the written word. Yes the mighty, sleek, stylish, and annually renovated, rejuvenated, and only slightly modified Apple I-Phone. Yours again for the low low price of another 1k if you want to stay abreast of the latest technological advances.
Richard’s poem brings attention to our reliance on screens of various sorts as a substitute for the true art of communication, a dialogue that allows for two perspectives to foster growth in each through the art of listening.
As with any tool, they can be used for good or bad, right or wrong purposes. In and of themselves tools are neutral agents that represent the intentions of a user who will engage their purpose towards an ultimate aim. The I Phone can be a great agent of inner and outer, exploration and growth. However, this can only happen when we allow the initial social conversation to open up to dialogue that will foster such astute transitions. Thank you for your poem Richard, and I look forward to the book.
You too can check out this poem and his blog at
River of Word Flow: Rhymes and Reasons
I hope you enjoy… and Thank You for The Book Richard. I have read and will write a review soon.
Dr. Tom
