In our increasingly digital world, we seem to be losing touch with the most basic elements of human interaction. In texts, we compress our thoughts to the fewest possible characters, with punctuation viewed as an extravagance. Social media provides a veil of anonymity that lets us speak freely, uninhibited by concern about the emotional baggage our words may carry. AI provides a platform for conversation with a partner stripped of ego and wired to flatter ours.
In the end, we are still analog beings, with a need for human interaction built into our DNA. Losing touch with the tools we use to smooth the interactions between our fellow travelers and us through life can ultimately threaten our emotional well-being, as shown by the rising rates of mental health interventions.
Interaction with other humans is not a luxury; it is a fundamental necessity.
As the digital world encroaches, words like "thank you" have become quaint. It is as if their importance has been forgotten. In the spirit of keeping them alive, I offer these tales of thankfulness:
Gratitude Is a Loop Worth Repeating
It was an ordinary Sunday as I knocked items off my "Honey Do" list, listening to music in my headphones at a volume that was probably too loud and contemplating the state of the universe. Suddenly, my visit to my fortress of solitude was interrupted by a blue-gray van pulling into my driveway. The Amazon driver hopped out and took a few steps to deliver my wife's latest order to the front door.
Instinctively, I pulled my headphones off my ears and said, "Thank you."
The driver hopped back in his van in what should have been the normal ending to this exchange. Instead, he got back out of the van to say:
"I don't get many 'thank yous' during my day, so I just wanted you to know I appreciated it."
Essentially, he was thanking me for a "thank you." In programming, infinite loops are something to be avoided, but in the real world, this felt like a loop I wouldn't mind being caught in.
Something's Missing
Since it was Halloween night, the audience at New York's historic Radio City Music Hall was particularly festive. Co-headliner Cheap Trick had primed the crowd, and now they waited for John Waite to take the stage, fresh off his number-one hit, "Missing You." No one was more excited than the girl sitting near the front of the stage, a huge bouquet of flowers in hand.
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