Anyone Listening?

I have no idea how many Apple computers, iPhones and iPads there are in the world, but if a visit to

the Apple Store at Southpark is any indicator, the number is staggering.   Last week I made two visits to the “Geek Bar” for some technical support for my new iPhone.   It’s a slick device and technological marvel.   I just can’t figure out how it all works.   In fact, I doubt if there is anyone who knows everything there is to know; simply way too much technology for any one person to master.   This is why it took two trips to finally solve the “glitch” in my software.

We have come a long way since Alexander Graham Bell introduced us to the telephone.  Imagine what he would think of Facetime, voicemail, email and texting.

Of course, the whole idea of a phone is to communicate.  You know, talk and listen. In his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them.  Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them.”

In a day when everyone has a cell phone up to their ear, it might be worth asking ourselves if we are really listening.  Careful listening only happens in those unhurried moments with our friends, spouse, children, teenagers and aging parents.   The Geek Bar can help with lots of things, but only you and I can decide to be good listeners.   Anyone still  listening?

 

Thanks to all of you who have been reading Dr. Kort’s blogs.   This will be his last blog for a while.  Thanks again.

The 10,000 Year Clock

I have always been fascinated by clocks; in fact, I have a small collection of them. Most of the clocks in my collection were made around 1850, and are still running. I wonder what stories they could tell if they could talk instead of just going tick tock?

Recently I read about the 10,000 Year Clock, designed by Danny Hillis. It is built to run for 10,000 years without the use of batteries or anyone needing to wind it. It will be powered by mechanical energy harvested from sunlight and the people who visit it. While there is no completion date on the books, it will be unveiled to the public once it is ready to start ticking.

You don’t need a 10,000 year clock or even a Timex to remind you that life moves fast and waits for no one.  The Bible says, “Teach us O Lord, to number our days and to apply our hearts unto wisdom.”  In other words, time is a gift and most of the important ticks in life seem to come in moments. As Alice Johnson is fond of saying, “life does not consist in the number of breaths you take, but in the number moments that take your breath away.”

We’re now into the second week of a new year. Time keeps ticking away.  I hope that during this New Year life will surprise you with many breathless moments.

I wonder what moments you have experienced that took your breath away?  Any  you would like to share?