Through Time and Space

    Two hundred years ago man traveled at almost the same exact speed they had traveled since the invention of the wheel.  Families had children who grew up, married, and had their own families within a short distance of where they were born.  True – there were those who altered the expectations of the larger society.  The adventurous would set sail, or just set out to discover places they had never seen, but they were certainly the few.

    Then we invented mechanical power and used it to cut through time and space at unheard of speeds.  Trains would cover in an hour distances that someone riding a fast horse would take a day or more to do.  Steam powered ships would cross the oceans regardless of the winds or currents and do so in weeks, rather than months.

    In the time it took the average man or woman to cross the United States in the 1920’s we went to the moon in the 60’s.  In the span of fifty years we went from speeds measured in tens of miles per hour to distances measured in thousands of miles per hour.

    Information and communication have also seen that growth in transport speed.  In the past two hundred years we have gone from town criers sharing the news of the day on a street corner to instant global sharing of raw events.  Now when a catastrophe happens not only do the locals affected by the event know, but anyone on the globe with an internet connection can see the images broadcast.

    We are a society in motion, so interested in going, doing, and telling that it seems we too often forget to stop, observe and listen.  I have friends who are hunters, I believe one of the great appeals of a hunt is the absolute need to calm yourself and observe so you can approach without spooking the pray.

   

As I approach my upcoming retirement I am faced with the need to reorient and define my voyage through time and space.  I believe my speeds will be measured one again in single digits.  I look forward to that time, and that space.