This morning when I arose I noticed that I had accidentally moved the iPad last evening resulting in it becoming unplugged. I plugged it back in to charge. Two hours later it was still only 17% charged. I had noticed the past week or so that charging the iPad was very slow.
I did what I so frequently do – actually, several times a day – I petitioned Google to tell me what to do. Indeed, Google quickly told me that one of the common problems was using the iPhone charger which is not the same as the iPad charger. Sure enough, I found the iPad charger and in 40 minutes or less, it is forty per cent charged.
That got me to thinking about how indebted I am to Google. It is not just that Google can often help me problem solve a plumbing issues, locate the etiology of a word, tell me what might help with getting my printer on a network, or how to prepare some food item, it tells me something very important about humility. In my mind, humility is a positive term indicating that I need not be more than I am. As is true for most of we humans there was a time when it seemed as if I was less knowledgeable or less competent or less of something than most other people. As was true for many of we males, I was very reluctant when a young man, to ask for directions or any kind of help. I certainly did not want to reveal the depth of my ignorance or ineptness.
Certainly I “knew” the term humility and what I thought the Christian Church taught about humility. I heard the term as a another slap. Not only was I not smart enough or competent enough, I was not humble enough. I did not hear the term as I would later come to understand it. Now I use the term to think about my shared humanness. Google has been a daily reminder of that fact. Even at my worst, I was not arrogant enough to think that some group of people or some person (the almighty google team which is always at work) was working around the clock just to make sure I have constant access to all this information. If an answer or at least a discussion of an issue can be googled then others must have the same question or issue. In fact, I can safely assume that many other people have the same issue or question.
Despite the fact that I have been best friends with all manner of books including reference books, self-help books, do-it-yourself books, and philosophical books since I was a young child, somehow I did not quite learn or accept that I am no better or worse, no smarter or dumber than other humans. Sure, I have my own particular talents or skills but so does everyone else. The person or animal who might test very low on the IQ scale often forces me to accept the simplicity of being spiritual. I tend to really complicate what it means to be spiritual. On the other hand, I might know or be able to do some things that that person or animal might not be able to do. We are both equally valuable; both worthy of unconditional love. We really do not need to compare apples and oranges
So, on this Sunday morning, I am feeling very grateful to Google who continues to challenge me to accept that I am enough.
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