I lived when simply waiting was a large part of ordinary life: when we waited, gathered around a crackling radio, to hear the infinitely far-away voice of the king of England… I live now when we fuss if our computer can’t bring us everything we want instantly. We deny time.
We don’t want to do anything with it, we want to erase it, deny that it passes. What is time in cyberspace? And if you deny time you deny space. After all, it’s a continuum—which separates us.
So we talk on a cell phone to people in Indiana while jogging on the beach without seeing the beach, and gather on social media into huge separation-denying disembodied groups while ignoring the people around us.
I find this virtual existence weird, and as a way of life, absurd. This could be because I am eighty-four years old. It could also be because it is weird, an absurd way to live.”
— Ursula K. LeGuin, Interview by Heather Davis. “Stories from wide open, wild country: An Interview with Ursula K. Le Guin” Hobo Magazine 16: 130-131. (2014)
Notes:
- Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels
- Portrait: The New Yorker by Dana Gluckstein
Live & Learn 
I adore Ursula Le Guin! How wise she is!
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She is!
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she really gets what’s what
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She does.
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Thank you, Ursula!
and this is exactly why I was away for 2 years.
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Ah yes. The only reason for your disappearance!
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The main reason why I took a long break, yes.
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Makes me think of a riff of George Carlin. “We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years.”
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Love Carlin!
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My sincere THANKS to everyone who contributed to make this post possible. I SO needed this “in your face wake up call”, and I needed it right at this moment. I was feeling very down and lost yesterday. I believe this post describes why. SO Grateful!!
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Good! So glad!
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Wisdom indeed!
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Yes!
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Love Ursula. “It could also be because it is weird, an absurd way to live.” That.
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So THAT!
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