I was re-reading my notes the other day when I came across this passage from Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth. Here is what it said:
“What’s also missing is a sense of relationship.
People suffer in isolation from one another.
In a world without purpose, without meaningful values, what have we to share but our emptiness, the needy fragments of our superficial selves?
As a result, most of us scramble about hungrily seeking distraction, in music, in television, in people, in drugs.
And most of all we seek things.
…We’ve fast become a world of things. And most people are being buried in the profusion.
What most people need, then, is a place of community that has purpose, order, and meaning.”
This got me thinking about where we are as a society today. Michael Gerber wrote this a long time ago, but it seems even more true now. We are in forced isolation with the coronavirus, we order food (whether it’s through grocery delivery or ordering meals) and material possessions (via Amazon) and they show up at our doorstep. There are more enticing shows on inexpensive streaming options. We can work from home. Our relationships and our ability to feel connected with our community is slowly weakening.
What I’m nervous to see is how we are affected long-term if we stay down this path. Yes, things are easier and more convenient than ever, but are we willing to trade convenience for things like relationships and community? We are already very self-absorbed. Will this lead us down a path to care even more about ourselves and less for others?
