It’s pretty darn convenient to have things delivered to my door: groceries, clothing, dinner, random items I need or desire. I just go online, select the items, and they appear at various intervals. No human contact. Even the delivery people ring the bell and flee.

It’s all very efficient and devoid of human contact. Need customer service? The chat boxes are either bots or very distant people who mostly send links, asking if any of these resolved my question. (Aka: look it up yourself.)

I miss shopping with my girlfriends, reflecting (often giggling) in the dressing room, and a knowledgeable salesperson who can offer suggestions or guide me in my choices. Or a salesperson of any description, really.

Amazon is now offering clothing capsules while a bot assesses my archetype and tells me my best style choices. But why bother when no one is going to see me?

Transactional living is devoid of human contact. I miss it.

I live in a rural area and am grateful for the convenience of online shopping when needed, but I have to remind myself that a 45-minute trip to a real store or a nice restaurant fills my need to be part of humanity, a community, a greater whole.

Sometimes efficiency shortcuts life in ways that are not helpful.

Whenever possible, I encourage you to skip the convenience and embrace your humanity as someone who needs occasional human contact.

Think about what convenience may be detracting from your life. Go for inefficiency every now and then. Get messy. Go full human.

Mary