Technology & Bringing Your 5 Senses Back to Life

During my vacation this last summer I made one of the better decisions of my life: I didn't bring my laptop or cell phone with me. For ten days I didn't look at a computer screen, read an email, answer a ringing phone, or surf the internet. I loved those ten technology free days. My 5 senses came alive again as I looked at the ocean, felt cool breezes, tasted fresh food, listened to my son's baby talk, and smelled freshly cut grass.Ever since those ten days I've been trying to be much more discerning in my use of technology. I've been thinking a lot about the interaction between our 5 senses and our technology-driven culture, wondering if if we're engaging our 5 senses as God would want them to be engaged.It would seem to me that many of us spend eight or so hours of our day limiting our 5 senses to interact with a 15 inch computer screen, rather than seeing, touching, tasting, hearing, and smelling the full scope of God's creation.The intersection of multi-tasking, technology, and our 5 senses is also an issue. The latest Comcast Cable commercials (is Comcast only a California company?) show that we've become a people who often engage our 5 senses with three or more pieces of technology at the same time--watching TV, surfing the internet, and talking on the phone all at once. Is this a good idea?Below are some of the questions I'm in the process of asking about these issues.Sense of Sight: Are you glorifying God with your sense of sight?How many hours a day are your eyes looking at a computer screen? God made our eyes to observe the sky above, the trees outside, the sunset from last night, the faces of the people we live and work with, etc. What's one practical step that you could take this week to look at your computer screen less and look at everything else more?Sense of Touch: Are you glorifying God with your sense of touch?How many hours a day are you touching your keypad and mouse? God made our bodies to touch more than plastic--to appropriately touch other people, feel the warmth of a fire, feel the startling shock of a cold shower, etc. What's one practical step that you could take this week to touch and feel your laptop less and touch and feel non-plastic items more?Sense of Taste: Are you glorifying God with your sense of taste?How often do you eat rather than dine, stuff rather than taste, multi-task rather than single-task your meals? God gave us a sense of taste so that we might savor and enjoy the process of eating. What's one practical step that you could take this week to truly taste your food and enjoy your meal, rather than racing through your meal while you answer emails?Sense of Hearing: Are you glorifying God with your sense of hearing?How often do you listen to voices over a cell phone or read voices over email? God gave us ears so that we could enjoy conversations with friends, exchanges with strangers, and the sounds of breaking branches and singing birds. What's one practical step that you could take this week to listen to people through devices less and listen to people in person more?Sense of Smell: Are you glorifying God with your sense of smell?How often do you smell out of a box, smelling only the scents in your office, home, and car? God gave us our sense of smell so that we might enjoy a rich variety of scents, like the smell of early morning, the smell of a garden, and the smell of a wildflower. What's one practical step that you could take this week to smell out of a box less and smell outside more?