What the PH?

My dear phriend and phellow pharmer has a penchant phor substituting ph phor f because her adorable phormerly maiden name began with a ph. We've adopted it as our 'not-so-secret' way to give a shout out to our phriends that know us (of course you all know now..). And, it's an exercise in concentration to make sure we don't phorget any of the words that begin with 'f' when typing. (I had to double check this paragraph to make sure I'd gotten them all). And, it's just plain phun!!!

Of course with any of my blogs there's a lesson to be learned. I was struck while trying to come up with just the right thing to say to another phriend that's been struggling how much we have phorgotten how much power our words have. Many of us think before we speak but do not put as much thought into the words we text, post on Phacebook, send in an email, twitter etc. Life has become so easy to update everyone on that we have phorgotten the art of phinesse. Often our words come out like 2x4s to the head and are misinterpreted or hurtful without our intent being understood. While the money makers would argue that technology has made communication phaster and better I would argue that technology as made the art of communication a quickly phading relic. We don't communicate any more. Communication involves pouring your heart and soul into what you want to say (at least in my opinion). We use our hands to gesture, our eyes to express, make phaces to enhance our words. Our shoulders and posture impart valuable information about our words as well. All of these are lost when we communicate electronically. We lose our humanity when we don't communicate humanely.

I sat in a room last night watching a phootball game and fell prey to the monster. I was actually texting people sitting across the room phrom me. My excuses? Didn't want to interrupt the game. Didn't want to simply ask the person to step outside to talk. Didn't want others to know what I was saying. Sounds like I wanted to hide. Hiding isn't open. Hiding isn't always healthy. And, things that are hidden have a way of coming to light.

When's the last time you looked at the way you communicate with others? Do you text or post an update rather than picking up the phone (even if it's a cell phone because you've given up long distance or your landline entirely) and talking to the important people in your life? When's the last time you used a stamp to actually mail a really bonafide letter to someone rather than sending an email? When's the last time you hand wrote a note to your kids and put it in their lunch pail? When's the last time you packed their lunch?

Tough questions designed to make us think, myself included. When we lose the things that were important to us once upon a time they get harder and harder to phind again. It's important not to lose our phocus and to let the world know that we aren't willing to give up an actual hug or pat on the back for an emoticon or a virtual gesture. We still live in a real world. Maybe it's time we gave a PH.

Till next time.