I have been wanting a new living room couch. The one we have is from our old house and doesn’t match the new décor — and, the older I get the harder it is to get up from it. Seriously, you sink into it and cannot get up. In addition, it’s this faux leather and when you add that to cold climates, it’s not comfortable, warm or cozy. My husband ordered us a new couch, one that reclines. All I kept thinking was, 'YAY! Feet up, watching TV or reading after the work and snuggling with my Oakley, Mabel.' Total relaxation.

It arrived today. I went to sit in it and couldn’t wait to pull the lever and recline; but, no lever. Instead, I found about six buttons to push, a USB port and a phone charger. Then, out of the blue, an alert went off on my phone, my Apple watch and my Alexa. My brain went into overload, exhausting and annoying. All I wanted to do was sit with my feet up.

How many times do we think that electronics and gadgets and “things” make us more efficient? How many times do we “upgrade” to make our life easier? I taught a small plant HACCP class a while ago. Everything was still paper copies and they were looking into electronic means to keep records. While I am all for that, it has taken them a while to figure it all out: to teach people, validate, verify, ensure confidentiality and establish all these firewalls to keep hackers out. It was exhausting to follow the process.

It seems like to make processes easier we must exert 10 times the amount of effort and take twice as long to make it all happen. My new car has all these crazy bells and whistles, and I don’t really have to do much. It almost drives by itself. But when something goes wrong, all hell breaks loose. My automatic hatch opener thingy doesn’t work (can you sense my frustration?). The dealership has replaced the motor twice. The door is so heavy and tall I cannot open or close it by hand. Now (until it is fixed again), I must put groceries and feed bags inconveniently into the back seat! Exhausting and annoying.

I was in a new plant (in another country) a few years ago. They had all the bells and whistles to let them know when something was “off” and alerts for cost, yield, antimicrobials, etc. They had all the microbial testing down to a science — literally, a science of the science with expensive equipment and all the latest technology. I have no idea how much this plant cost to build and service but it wasn’t cheap. Yet, as I walked through the plant, the basic needs weren’t being met. Everyone was so head- down and so totally into their high-tech-whatever gadget that they were missing the obvious. Exhausting and annoying.

My point is, gadgets are fine until something doesn’t work or we have to spend more time learning it, fixing it, trying to keep hackers from hacking it, etc. Then it becomes a distraction and exhausting and annoying. My point is, occasionally it is important to look up and say 'hi' to someone, look up and see the trees and the flowers, look within and be grateful for simplicity. It is the simple things that make life enjoyable and make our work life and personal life easier. Be simple, go back to the basics and let’s unclutter and uncomplicate our lives.

2022 is not going to be easy even as we crawl out of the COVID pandemic. There’s a lot going on: Look up, be kind and keep it simple.

Random thoughts

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