Essential or Familiar

Yesterday, for a few hours, I couldn’t see my phone.

It wasn’t lost or stolen.

I simply had my eyes dilated.

Everything that’s usually easy became a blurry mess.

Somehow, in 44 years, I’d never experienced this.

As a writer who communicates nonstop, I needed another way to capture my ideas and get answers.

The conversations at my fingertips became a guessing game of muscle memory over visual certainty.

But I was impressed at how adaptable the brain is.

My voice became my pen. (Dictation replaced typing.)

My ears became my eyes. (Voice replies replaced reading.)

What felt essential was actually just familiar.

Before phones and computers, we shared knowledge through conversation, storytelling, pictures, and demonstration.

Writing gave ideas a new way to travel.

Printing helped those ideas reach more people.

Radio brought voices into homes.

Television added moving images.

Computers and phones made it easier to answer from anywhere.

And around the world, we communicate many ways.

Some speak.

Some sign.

Some read print and others read Braille.

For one person, written instructions make it clear.

For another, it may be a story or a demonstration.

All these have their place because our situations differ.

The way we learn to communicate is just one of many.

When our usual method disappears, it's helpful to know what other approach we can try.