|
|
|
|
Hallo again to all. We have spent the last few days snuggled up with our iPad reading*. Murder mysteries, histories, biographies—the topics have been as varied as the types of tea we imbibed. We spend much of our lives in the presence of others—at work, in shops, at the market, in community gatherings, and at worship—we find ourselves in near constant contact with others. Our weekends have been taken with travel, luncheons, and various sorts of 'tidying up'. It wasn’t until we snapped at a friend that it became evident that we needed time to ourselves. It should come as no surprise that we identify as Introverts. Though often typified by shy or quiet people, rather, introverts are energized by time alone. The oft-maligned (and just as often celebrated) Myers-Briggs Type Indicators use personality assessments to help people better understand themselves and others based upon a questionnaire revolving around various traits—Introvert/Extrovert, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. Many employers have come to use these sorters in their hiring practices. We wonder if this is going a bit far, although we find it an amusing and good way to understand our friends and ourselves. By answering the questions on the MBTI questionnaire as they believe fictional characters would, fans have even created quizzes using these types to decide which character participants are most like, ranging from characters in Harry Potter to Downton Abbey. Though fun, it is, in part, these online quizzes that make us pine for the days of letters and broadsheets. Though not a new complaint, these same online resources that connect us together make it hard for us to disconnect—frequently an arms length away from our email, silly games, news updates, and text messages. Screen addiction is now considered a real disorder by many, and though we are grateful for the opportunities and resources technology allows, it brings us together every week, we are grateful for those times are able to disconnect guilt-free. To escape into the dim light, the solace, the silence. Hello darkness, my old friend, Singer Art Garfunkel once summed up the meaning of Sound of Silence as 'the inability of people to communicate with each other, not particularly internationally but especially emotionally, so what you see around you are people unable to love each other'. ‡ Yet, loving is one of the bits of interpersonal contact we find the most gratifying. We need not be speaking, nor selling, nor working to love. But rather, to attend, to sacrifice, to provide, to receive, to listen—to be. And it is here that we once again find you, our readers. Those whom we have in our quiet weekly way come to appreciate and love. Refreshed and reenergized, we want to know about you and what we can do for you. In 2002 and 2007 we had surveys asking who you were and where you were from. A lot has happened since 2007. When birthed 20 years ago, Anglicans Online was the only place on the internet for the topic, but much has changed since then. We are all joyful volunteers but want to make sure that the hours our staff are putting in are in your service. (Edit: 1 October: The survey is now available.) Times are a-changing. Books are read on screens, Volkswagen is in scandal, and Anglicans Online uses CSS. We are happily anachronistic, but also want to know more about you, whom we have grown to love. Let us know, and we’ll see you next week. |
||
This web site is independent. It is not official in any way. Our editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. Please contact editor@anglicansonline.org about information on this page. ©2015 Society of Archbishop Justus. Please address all spam to press@anglicansonline.org |