Coconut and The Duke

Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver

Recently I sat next to a man at the movies who spent the entire time working with his Blackberry hand-held computer and then sending text messages on his cell phone. Occasionally, he would look up at the big screen, but then he would bow his head to the tiny screens in his lap. Obviously, he had taken to heart the slogan from an ad campaign: "Now anyplace can be your workplace."

At first I was a bit annoyed, but then I came to have something like sympathy for the man because his behavior had the look and feel of addiction. More and more it seems as if we are addicted to busyness. It starts with alluring promises ("you will save time," "you will have more freedom"). Eventually, however, there is no pleasure in it. We feel trapped. Even though we may begin to sense, "This is not good for me," we no longer see a way out. We are stuck in patterns we didn't exactly choose and don't know how to change.