My blog mail varies, but I value it; it has become wiser and more thoughtful since I’ve taken my anger elsewhere. Occasionally, I receive messages so thoughtful that I feel compelled to share them. This is why I started the blog in the first place.
I received one of these messages this morning from Adam A, someone I had never spoken with or heard from, who has been reading my work for more than 30 years.
I know nothing about him. This is why I will never go on Substack or some site writers use to collect money. I value the contact with my readers, regardless of how unusual or surprising it may be.
It isn’t that I don’t need money; instead, it’s that I need people in my life, not just money.
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“Dear Mr.Katz, I have been a reader of your work since I discovered Death By Station Wagon (my first mystery). I agree about being dehumanized by all the technology around us. I will intentionally select the wrong option when I call somewhere, just in the hope that a living person will respond. And we are both better for the exchange. I was late to grasp the digital age, and in trying to catch up, have lost sight of the sights and sounds that surround me. The company of my wife, as we sit on our back gallery overlooking the forest that lies just beyond arm’s reach, is that I need most to heal and restore my belief system. You keep writing, and I’ll use you as my haven on my laptop. Thank you!”
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Thank you, Adam, you have put your finger on precisely what I wish to do with my blog as I head into the final chapters of my life. I will keep writing, and letters like yours are why. I am working hard to ensure I connect and reconnect not only with other humans but also with the nature that is all around me. Like you, it makes Maria and me very happy to sit on our back lawn and look at the fire and the landscape in front of us. It’s the search for humanity. We need to rescue it. We all need it.
For me, that’s what charity is about – easing the pain of others and letting others ease the pain in me. This is the highest meaning of humanity for me, and thanks for sharing your search for it. Thanks also for sharing it with me and us. I’m honored to be your haven on your laptop.
Dear Jon. What a lovely comment from Adam puts everything in prospective. As much as I miss your views on world events , I understand your wanting to concentrate on ‘the landscape’, your support to your charities and , of course, the one and only Maria! Best wishes to all of you xo
Thanks Tammy, I’m sure I’ll have thoughts on world events one of these days, I am in shock about them..
Adam sounds like one of us! I struggle with being deeply immersed in technology; it has been and still is my career and I’m passionate about some aspects of it. But my pattern has been to try things very early, and I’m somehow able to make my mind up early as well and after that stay away from things like “social media.” One lesson I learned along the way, and try to remember, is that if a tech product feels like it’s encouraging me to be hasty, it’s a bad design. I think the real value of technology is that it can undergird mindfulness by adding convenience to some things that used to be slow and tedious, and grant you some extra time. The key is that if you’re using the tech, the design should help you use that extra time well, and not rush to post or reply or prematurely declare “I’m done.”
Thanks, Pete, the piece is about putting a wall between us and humans while using technology…Id love to know your thoughts on that. Thanks for your very thoughtful comments.
I really appreciate the way you have conveyed the message in a very right way to make sure someone like me gets the knowledge about it.
I am curious now enough to know more details and am sure I’ll be a regular visitor to your blog!
Thanks again!