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Barack Obama. He's not perfect, right? Well, nobody is . . . .
so no, he's not perfect. For example, at one point it was claimed that he was "addicted" to his Blackberry. "Obama and his Blackberry" was quite the story during the recent election.
I don't own a Blackberry. I have an iPod Touch, but Blackberry users tell me that it's not the same thing. From what I can gather, they're right. There's something different, even scary, about being able to get email ALMOST ANYWHERE. To be honest, I'm afraid to own a Blackberry. I'm afraid that I'd be checking it constantly and emailing people about things-that-can-definitely-wait. In this day and age, our work and personal lives can be deeply entwined. I don't see the point of entwining mine further. Maybe if I were President of the United States, or at least president of something or other, it would be justified. I'm a busy guy, but 99.9% of my email can wait, and I like it that way.
I wouldn't dare give any of you advice about whether or not to have a Blackberry-after all, some of you might be reading this post on your Blackberry right now. But, I do ask you to think about something. Do you like having a Blackberry? Does it make you feel good? Or, do you feel trapped by your constant use of it? Is your Blackberry a bad habit or a good one? Only you, and perhaps your loved ones, can answer this question.
That's the point. A lot of habits could be good or bad, it really depends on what we honestly (and I do mean honestly) think of them. Do you always feel good about your habit, be it using a Blackberry, or knitting constantly?
I am reminded of a caller to a call-in show. She was concerned about her elderly mother who was playing the slots at the local casino almost everyday. The caller was understandably worried about her mother. The host of the show asked some good questions. Was the mother upset by her own behavior? "No," said the caller. Okay, well maybe the mother was self-deluded and losing money that she didn't have? The caller also said no to this one. It seems the mother had plenty of money and she wasn't losing it all that quickly because she played the nickel slots. The radio host advised the caller that, although it maybe wasn't the very best way for her mother to spend her time, there wasn't much harm resulting.
That's the point. If you're constantly doing something that makes you feel icky inside, then you have a bad habit and you might want to do something about it. If you're doing something that doesn't, then you're probably okay. I say "probably" because a lot of us are rather talented at deceiving ourselves. We might think that there is no harm in constantly watching Brady Bunch reruns. Believe me, though, it does eventually start to affect you.
Now, I have to go and download this cool new "app" for my iPod . .
