Chemical Contract

So in the book, The Medium is in the Massage, we learn that the society is really based off of the “current” source of information and how that source of information is transmitted to us. At one time it was from one person to another, next it was written and sent, then it was printed and sent, later it was heard over a radio, followed by being broadcast on television, which was then followed by being broadcast on television in color, and today it is shot through a cyberspace to people all across the globe.
Each time our brains transmit information they have changed their chemistry to transmit the information in a way we, humans, can understand. We do it without realizing it. Language is something that links us to other people and without it we would see ourselves as the trees see themselves or what we think a tree might see itself as; just a tree creating energy and living and dying. Language keeps us connected and gives us a false hope that we aren’t insane that we have a deeper purpose for being alive. That’s what Marshall McLuhan was saying to me. So to stay connected with all the forms of transmission we have to do something extra as individuals. To stay connected we have to build a brain that can switch from one chemical to the other without a second thought.
We have to stay connected to the people we love by actually talking to them face to face, which I think we have slowly lost because other forms of communication are so much “easier”. The thing about face to face is you actually see the person you are talking to. You know how are they feeling because you can hear their voice, you can see how they are holding their hands, you can see their eyebrows move, and you can see how their eyes smile or frown. It is the only way that you can actually grasp everything the person is trying to “transmit” to you. So actually facing people is one big step individuals need to take if they are really going to practice what McLuhan preaches.
Kids need to start being kids again and adults need to let them do that. Your kid is probably more likely to want to get into Harvard if they do it themselves. If they get to jump in the leaves as a kid and work up to being that stellar student they were meant to grow into instead of becoming an adult at age four. If the television set was turned off for a period of time in a kid’s life, they may learn how to be a kid instead of being transformed into an adult who keeps their thoughts and feelings to themselves.
We need to be listeners. That radio may help you do that. Get it out. If we learn to use our ears as they were meant to be used maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult to sit down and listen to a friend or teacher talk about something because you won’t need to be distracted by eighteen things popping up in front of your face each with a different sound and color. In this time everyone wants every sense entertained at once.
Why can’t we just do one thing at a time? College students wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed if they realized they only need to do one thing at a time. Well if it was practiced in the home, then the school, then the job maybe it wouldn’t be so unacceptable for your child to be only doing their school work or only doing one sport or club instead of fifteen. We need to re-teach our brains that it is okay to think about one thing at once instead of five. But we have to teach it because it can’t do it alone. The only thing that must be said is that life gets busy. It is inevitable, so what do we do about that? We take it one step at a time. We need to stop focusing so much about everything around us and think about the things that are most important to us and go with it.
Take each day at a time and fill each hour with living. Humans have a tendency to feel as though they don’t have enough time to live, so instead of doing everything half and get brainwashed by the media, do the things one need to be done and two the things that make you happy, for that is all we can do. We have one life and what happens in it is what we make of it. It’s a clique thing to say, but unless you actually listen to what is being said you will pass by your own life without realizing you did in fact live.