I did a news segment this morning on the
CBS Early Show about Google's new
Mail Goggles feature. You can watch it
here. It got me thinking that
WordPress should have a similar tool for blogging because I sometimes find myself writing posts when I am overly introspective. If I had it my way, WordPress Goggles would look a little something like this:
Hi Natali. You are in danger of posting something overly personal and transparent. Given that you are prone to emotional diarrhea, please answer the following questions before we allow you to publish:1. Have you cried in the last 24 hours?
2. Have you been overly needy for your mother lately?
3. Will this post embarrass you in a few days/weeks/months?
4. Are you hoping anyone in particular will see/read this?
5. Are you sitting next to a glass of red wine and a plate of artisan cheeses?
If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes," you may not publish this post. Turn off your computer and your phone, wash off your face mask, and go to sleep. You may reconsider this post tomorrow morning after a large glass of orange juice and some peanut butter toast.
Too bad this feature does not exist because I actually can answer yes to a few of the above questions right now. Additionally, I've been up since 4 a.m. and worked this morning. I can't nap because my sister and her fiancé are sleeping in my bed since they arrived at 6 a.m. on a red-eye flight from San Francisco. I'm lying on my hardwood floor wearing my
Dr. Dre headphones and listening to
Donna DeLory. I'm about to wax introspective again so I'll just blame it on the lack of goggles.
I was sitting in the makeup chair this morning on the Early Show set and the woman who does my hair started telling me about her spiritual leader/psychic. She told me that the psychic gives her advice and sometimes is able to predict situations in precise detail. I got the sense that the predictions were a bonus and not the crux of that relationship. What she really got from the psychic was advice, support, and something to believe in.
Coincidentally, I recently met up with a good friend from San Francisco who is completing her training to be a life coach. She explained the craft to me in a lot of the same terminology that the hairdresser used to explain her psychic. She said that it is about helping people make the right choices in order to attain those things in life that are the most important to them.
Both the hairdresser and my friend believed that I could benefit from this kind of guidance. To be more precise, they believed that anyone could benefit from this kind of guidance, not just me. I don't think I was wearing an "I'm lost - need help" expression on my face but it is conceivable.
So I put it out there to you, dear reader: Do you believe in spiritual leaders and life coaches or is this all just new age kaka?
I asked a friend of mine about this and he put it this way, "Think about the way modern life is now compared to the simplicity of our hunters and gatherers existence. Our society may have evolved faster than we are emotionally equipped to deal with. Maybe we all need a little help with that." I'll admit, my modern life changes faster than I am usually prepared to deal with. But do I want predictions about what is next? As tempting as that sounds, I don't think I could handle the anticipation. I think all I really want is what most people want: something to believe in.
To be clear, I don't always listen so intently to the hair and makeup artists at work. If I did, I would believe that my eyebrows are an eyesore and that I need Botox. But I read something this week that made me more amenable to this advice. In 2007, Kurt Vonnegut was asked to give a talk in Indiana. Two weeks after he finished writing the speech, he took a nasty fall on his head, which left him mentally unable to deliver it. His son Mark Vonnegut delivered and published the speech. Here is an excerpt:
"I asked Mark a while back what life was all about, since I didn't have a clue. He said, 'Dad, we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.' Whatever it is."
Truth be told, I don't really believe in psychic advisers for myself. But that doesn't mean that they aren't useful for someone else in their own attempt to get through their "whatever it is." I think I'll just keep on getting through my "whatever it is" too. Maybe I don't need the goggles after all.