Below My Feet

Where am I?

Cyberspace.

You know what's great about the Internet? Interconnectivity. I am truly thankful that I can log on to my email and receive messages from my friends and family back home. I am beyond excited that I can stay up to date on those Fighting Tigers of LSU, with scores and recaps of each game. I love sharing my culture with coworkers - showing Youtube videos of classic American music, funny pranks or new music I can't get out of my head. I love being able to connect with new friends in Hungary via Facebook. I love that I have this blog, and I can attempt to express the myriad of emotions I am trying to handle.

I love it, but...

I love it, but I wonder if it keeps me from fully embracing my new life in Budapest. Does this blessing of communication continue to trap me in a comfort zone I established for myself thousands of miles away? It is so easy to remain entrenched in American entertainment, American issues and the American lifestyle. Am I unwittingly forcing my culture onto those around me when I should be doing everything in my power to absorb theirs? I've moved away physically, but have I moved away emotionally?

Is the Internet a blessing or a curse?

I honestly don't know. There are pros and cons to every issue. To tell you the truth, I think it has been a blessing and a curse since it's inception. The real question lies within me, the user. How am I using the Internet? Is it a detriment to my time here in Hungary, an electronic buffer zone keeping others at bay, or  a means to share, learn and communicate?

I know one thing, it's going to be a challenge. It's so easy for me, a member of the technologically savvy generation, to open up my laptop and get lost in cyberspace. What will it take to keep me grounded?

What a great question. It's one that does not have an easy answer, and I take great comfort in knowing that my fellow humans struggle with the same issue. The advent of a virtual community and virtual world has only made our self-centered natures more public, and somehow more encouraged.

Recently, I have been listening to the new album by Mumford and Sons. By far, my favorite song is "Below My Feet." The lyrics to the chorus are:

Keep the earth below my feet

For all my sweat, my blood runs weak

Let me learn from where I have been

Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

This imagery really spoke to me as I wrote this post. Now, I promise I had full intentions of writing a well formed and entertaining entry without mentioning Mumford and Sons, but I couldn't decide how to properly end it. The conclusion I had written was empty - an open question where definition was necessary. So, I left the post to fester as a draft. I've come back to it several times and each time I came back to an illformed and lackluster ending. But today, something changed and this chorus jumped to mind.

Don't forget where you are or where you come from. Remember you were put on this earth to learn and to serve, and that your definition of the two may be backward. It is a blessing that we are able to learn from one another and teach each other at the same time. Keep the earth below your feet and you'll always be grounded.