Why the hurry?

“Emails are a major cause of today’s problems” - someone wiser had once told me. This was some years ago, before we went all ga-ga over social-media with our tweets and re-tweets, posts and re-posts, reels, videos and what not. I had looked at him quizzically and he had taken time to respond.

Image Credits : Ribkhan / Pixabay

His explanation was on these lines. During earlier times if we were angry or frustrated or disagreed vehemently with someone and wanted to convey - we would have to write a letter. Writing a letter warrants a paper, a pen, an envelope, stamps and some space at our disposal, and on occasions, it just seemed too much of an effort given the reason. Sometimes the paper, or pen, or envelope or the stamps went missing and it could also take a while to find a place to sit and write, by which time some of the anger would taper off. Sometimes it also happened that what we wrote did not appear worth sending or effective and rewriting appeared an onerous uphill task that we would postpone. Sometimes one simply forgot about the disagreement, or the frustration seemed inconsequential, after a day or two. In most cases we did not respond immediately. The delay allowed for conscious and sub-conscious processing as a result of which in many cases our saner selves dealt in a more mature manner.

However, today, with emails at our disposal at all times, one is quick to write and send, many times immediately, at the spur of the moment without giving a second thought. There is no time for the anger to taper off, for us to look at the issue with the distance of time. Chances are high that the other person too is ready with a flared temper to receive our email, and respond to it. This sets us off on a spiral that helps none.

Today I see the wisdom in what he had said, all the more so given our fettish for online purchases - getting cooked food and other stuff at home.

Let us begin with miscellaneous purchases. Earlier we would have to think, discuss, decide, fix time and mode, ensure that we had money, go to the market, visit multiple shops, purchase and return. We would also have to figure out how accessible the shops were given their timings, traffic enroute, distance, location and such. Now we have all markets at our fingertips at all times of the year and we do not even have to go to an ATM. As a corollary we end up with a lot of unwanted samaan cluttering our homes, and as a corollary our lives, further.

Getting cooked food delivered at home is, if anything, more dangerous. We end up eating at times and in quantities that would make our body shout in protest - if it could, items that our body would never take in - if it had an option, and we have no idea where and when the food has been cooked, in what conditions and what ingredients have been used! A friend, also a doctor, had once warned that this could turn into an addiction far more dangerous than smoking!

Emails are just a symptom, a microcosm of all that we see around. This may be a good time to look at slowing down.