Moments Later: Things Don’t Change

We hear so much about how things change all the time. The fast pace of everyday life keeps zipping at turbo speeds. Revolutionary technology displace things from just a few days ago. Life. Moving. Too. Fast.

Today, I did five things almost exactly as I did them 35 years ago.

#1 - I made oatmeal on the stove in a pot.

A simple little ritual like making hot cereal on the stove has not changed a bit in 35 years. I add oatmeal and water together and turn on the burner. Five minutes later I dressed it up with bananas, cinnamon, walnuts and milk. It goes into a bowl and I ate it with a spoon.

#2- I filled up my car with gas

#2- Getting Gas

Except for the price, nothing was really different in this experience. I drove into a gas station that also sold Coke, Slim Jims and lottery tickets. I had to walk into the gas station to give them my credit card since the reader wasn’t working on the pump. I pumped the gas into the tank. I gave the attendant my card. And I drove off with a full tank.

#3 - I made a phone call using a telephone.

I used a telephone to call my mother and talked to her. 35 years ago I also used a telephone to keep in touch with her and to check up on how she is doing. The Mets still lost and my mother was early when she went to the Temple and met someone who knew my grandfather Poppa George. Not much has changed.

#4 - I listened to the radio in my car.

I had an errand to run and turn the radio on in my car. Just as I did 35 years ago, I could listen over the airwaves to jazz being played on a local college radio station or I could hear an opera on the classical music channel. Of course there are plenty of other options for entertaining myself in the car, but the radio was simple, available and free. All things I like.

#5 - Walking

#5 I put my sneakers on and took a walk for an hour

I love to walk. To think. To meditate. 35 years ago I did exactly the same routine without any fancy equipment. It is a simple thing and not much has changed since I took those steps.

Spare Change. So not everything changes and I am happy that I can step back and experience the simple connections of those moments between yesterday and today. Are you watching for these momentSlater in your life too?

However, as I write this on a wireless laptop and publish these thoughts onto my blog, they can be instantly read and viewed anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. So a few billion folks could learn about how things haven’t changed.