Keeping it Down to a Dull Roar...

Social media is a mighty stream; messages rush by and rise up around us like mist. For those of us who grew up on dry land, it seems as though the surge could pull us under without a trace. There are some who thrill to the challenge of the extreme and dive right off the cliff into the waterfall; some who were born in the water and navigate with ease; some who choose to stand by and watch... and others who prefer to get their feet wet by wading in a quieter pool and practicing their stroke until confident that they can keep their head above water.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night trying to process all the information that has been swirling around me from social media channels all day long. Blogging from my own quiet web page and sharing it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn is part of my daily training, of preparing for an eventual swim across the channel; stroke by stroke, day by day. There are days when it's tough to get motivated, days when the flow is pleasant and comfortable, days when my feet drag on the bottom, and days when meeting the challenge both exhausts and exhilarates.

Why do it at all? Because the information age is upon us, the inundation of constant communication flows over us incessantly, threatening to drown us out...and familiarity with the environment may help improve our capacity to fish for the quicksilver salmon, to pan the gold from the mud, and to retain the ability to hear our own thoughts over the dull roar.