How did people make long journeys before technology made the world so much smaller?
I embarked for Zambia not knowing if I would be able to stay in touch with R. I was told we would have wifi at our residence, but I’ve had that promise made to me before and been let down. I knew I would make an effort to contact him daily in whatever way I could, but that was the limit of my expectation.
To my great delight I have been able to stay well connected since arriving in Lusaka, and R and I video chatted for over an hour on Sunday afternoon. As a long-distance couple (though not usually this long of a distance) we know a thing or two about missing each other, so I don’t want what follows to be misunderstood as a desire to hear from him less. But I wonder:
Not long ago such a trip would have meant no contact, and yet for all of human history people have been setting off on adventures.
What skill do we lose by not allowing ourselves distance? Do we never learn how to properly miss someone? Are we missing out on our chance to practice grief?
I believe a smaller world is a net gain, but even those come with losses. What do you think?
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