Innocence lost

Like everyone else that works hard for a living, I need my small summer break to recharge my batteries in the sunny beaches of my homeland, in the village hearth of my parents, with the engaging company of my son and friends. In these times of crisis, the need to feel rejuvenated in order to tackle the various challenges life presents us, is even more compelling…I need the time to read, to reflect, to write, to sleep, to admire the rich nature all around me, to wake up when I want, to talk, to touch, to plan, to wear khakis and bathing suits all day, to dream…nothing out of the ordinary here, you might say…Isn’t this what we all more or less look forward to during our vacation?   Yet, even this idyllic moment of a few days has become almost impossible to even consider as the stream of emails requiring responses seems overwhelming…Why do I have to even look at them, you may ask? What if I don’t, I ask? We have become prisoners of our laptops, tablets, and smart phones…and escape is nowhere in sight…As instruments of pleasure I adore them...as instruments of work, I abhor them...as a result, the pleasure I get from having most of my summer reading list in the form of ibooks, reading news and analsyis, and watching movies on these devices, is nullified by the obligation to check with the office, and respond to all types of legitimate requests...I accept the world as it is, I understand and live in tune with the digital age...yet, there are times I wish some of the innocence of my chidlhood were still pertinent...like the vision I saw today of the old man on his donkey carrying fodder to his sheep reminding me of my long departed grandfather everytime I would spend much of my summer with him...the world moves on, we move we it, and lose much of our innocence along with it...