Hyperspeed

The long-awaited breather is here finally. And I can now take the time, ironically, to catch up what's been left behind ... the marking.

And in the midst of this perpetual sprint, I'm figuring out why we live in such a world where speed and instantaneity seem to be the figurative principle. I'm running unceasingly ... only to find that I have more to catch up with.

The issue became more pronouced when I had a chat with Barney earlier today. Barney's pre-enlistment time by pursuing a certificate in driving. And he's eager to complete the whole course before he enters. Having failed the first time, he'll be taking the second in two weeks time. But my question to him was, why the rush?

Barney is representative of the generation that needs to find instant gratification, complete all that the window of age permits them to do - things which were once considered for the mature of age. And he is merely one of the many in the class that is attempting to learn to drive.

There's nothing wrong with getting a driving licence. It is the symbolic that disturbs me. I don't remember my peers scurrying to learn to drive once law permitted them to. We took a little while longer ... What unnerves me is the signification of this one of many signs. We live in a culture of speed or rather hyperspeed. We move so rapidly that our inner and physical selves are unable to keep pace. And so we begin to fall apart.

It begins first with the rupturing of the social fabric. Speed requires the forgoance of the trivialities. And these often include the formalities of social interaction. We begin to ignore the 'thank-yous', the 'hellos', the 'how do you dos'. And we want merely the essence of the conversation - the point. And so begins the preeminence of functionality and the demise of customaries.

And we wonder why we live in a graceless society that has forgotten its rituals and customs ...

I see it everywhere and I am no exception to this hyperreal existence of hyperspeeds. But it begins to infect my life in ways I do not wish for. It is affecting human relations; it is affecting the essence of life. People come and go so quickly - they move on ...

But what are we running for? Why are we running? Where are we running to?