A few days ago, one of my friends linked to a blog on Facebook entitled I Should Be Engaged. The inner me sighed in disgust, but this friend almost always links to very interesting things, so I clicked over. Turns out that the writer didn't want to be engaged to be married in 2016 but more engaged in life. In people. In daily discourse. In all of the opportunities for connection with others that get lost with this "advance" of technology (which is a double-edged sword for sure!). It made me think about all of the ways I've disengaged due to the hazardous combination of chronic illness, technology, and plain old human nature.
The truth is that it is work to be actively engaged with others. Active listening (just to name one element of engagement) is work. Am I the only one who will find my brain wandering when a story drags on a just a bit too long? That is one area of engagement I know I can work on. Another one is just the doing. Active engagement requires volunteering/participating even when it falls somewhere outside of where you feel comfortable. Isn't there someone else more "qualified" to do this? Probably. But, if you've been asked or given the opportunity... Heck, even this act of blogging requires engagement. Let's face it, I've been lacking since the holidays (and probably before that). I get tired. I run out of ideas for interesting things to write about and I find my time being sucked in other directions. But, I care very much about my blog friends and want to stay actively engaged with you.
So, while you listen to this song, I hope you think about the word engagement. Think about if you're as engaged in this life as you'd like to be. Think about ways you could engage better. I hope you share your thoughts on this (along with your vote) in the comments section. I think choosing to be engaged in the year 2016 would serve us all well!!!
The song is Waiting For Superman. I'm going to do something I rarely do and pit the originator of this song against a cover of this song. I'm only doing that because so many of you will have never heard the song, ergo it really makes no difference. Ha!
Who sang it first? Daughtry. Here is his version. I really love this video (and I think it speaks to the topic of engagement as discussed above), but if you don't think you can vote without voting on the video... don't watch it. Or watch it again after you've voted.
Here is the cover by Corvyx.
Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!
For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:
- Far Away Series
- Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
- Tossing it Out
- DiscConnected (temporarily disconnected from BoTB)
- Mike's Ramblings
- Curious as a Cathy
- Book Lover
- The Sound of One Hand Typing
- dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands
- Cherdo on the Flipside
- Angels Bark
- THE DOGLADY'S DEN
- Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Janie Junebug Righting and Editing
- NovelBrews
- J.A. Scott
- Quiet Laughter
- Holli's Hoots and Hollers
- beReInVintaged
