Coining 'mobilephonemanship'
Some twenty years back I remember one incident that happened with me late evening in my native home. There were no mobiles then and the vintage black landline telephone was the only way to communicate with faraway friends, relatives and others because the next faster communication media was the telegram service at the nearby post office. So an urgent official call requesting a postponement of my job interview dates due to unavoidable circumstances were to be conveyed not later than that day but the post office was closed by then as also the company's office. No one would have picked up the phone had I attempted to call on them that left me thinking on what could be done now? It was then that a gentleman arrived and using the same telephone he managed to send a telegram via. a service called 'phonogram' highlighting my present inability with a request for any available dates in the coming near future. Such a service was available and we in our family were in the dark about its existence maybe in heat of the moment.
So the moral of the story rather the actual incident was that had it not been for the gentleman's 'presence of mind' I would have never ever been able to connect with the company and present my request for the change of dates. It is obvious from above that a timely connect could result in a positive outcome but that however is not so important! In my personal opinion what matters more in today's age is the ability to connect oneself, enable one's voice to reach the right person at the right place and most important at the right time because such an initiative when taken positively helps one to allow that little space for destiny to take over and decide on the probable outcome from the other end. Somehow a 'presence of mind' in today's context on such communication tools viz. the mobile phones, the variety of them with their available variety of features that help to deal with our day to day life activities seems to be quiet misplaced as many people buy them seeking the needed features i.e. you could buy a mobile phone and a suitable plan that fits into your scheme of lifestyle unlike in the old days when the big black telephone ruled the roost. If suited either one had to buy it or forget it!
Let us now take the example of our three close friends whom we had met when reading this blog's Home page. They are but a carefree type of youngsters ever waiting for a chance to play truant; very typical of today's generation. One of them has approached his college early in the morning to seek the calm environment of the library and study for the exam to be held in the day's afternoon session as a quick revision and practice would always help clear the exam. But on reaching the college to his utter bewilderment he finds that the exam is scheduled now in the very morning session and not afternoon to which he whips out his sword I mean his mobile phone but finds the battery is very low. Now should he call up his other two friends and ask them to leave their houses immediately and come to college for they all had made a serious mistake in interpreting the exam time table put up days before on the notice board. On second thoughts should he first charge his mobile and then talk but talking later would be futile and talking now would render his mobile switched off dead and thence become unable to receive personal calls that could be urgent. So we have a very bad situation for our friend what with a mobile phone available in hand, battery low and no time to charge. The situation demanded a sacrifice of good friendship had he to decide on not inform them about the actual exam timings as against his own personal needs or maybe at the instant let go off his personal issues on a priority basis. A mental agony as this to decide what to do in the face of an unexpected looming exam session that went overlooked would be the last thing a student appearing for an exam would need; enough for anyone to remain tensed the whole day. One may even be tempted to throw away in anger the mobile in hand a scene quiet often depicted in films that showcases the irresponsible behavior of not acknowledging the statically positioned old telephone's development today to becoming mobile with our own mobility and it of becoming a part of us just like the clothes we normally wear. Clothes protect us from excess sunlight, dust, dirt and so should be analogically expected from the mobile phone. Such instances of our friend above seems quiet harmless unless one has had to experience something more bitter than their situation thus qualifying the coined word 'mobilephonemanship' as an in-demand skill awaiting recognizance. So what could be this word 'mobilephonemanship' that could cut across all age, gender, race, etc. in society today? Read on to find more!
Do we ever wonder how and why we still find ourselves at loss when an important call is to be made and our mobile phone's balance shows nil or the phone is not charged up or the charger is there but no available electric points. The worst part although very unlike to happen would be to forget the phone either at home or elsewhere. Summing up we have today the mobile phone as similar to a sword donned by the knights in the days of yore especially found from the folk tales prominent among western countries but no books on ancient knighthood history would ever mention a swordsman riding the countryside and putting up with duty on a borrowed sword because his own needed sharpening. No books either would mention the greatness of the sword wielded rather than the charged flesh that wields it. Finally no history books would ever mention a knight claiming helplessness for having forgotten to bring his sword with him. A swordsmanship has therefore meant to be the skill of the swordsman to make best use of his sword at all times seconded by many a philosophical books that have equated the sharpness of the sword to the purity of the mind and soul.
So how should we manage this God gifted tool as a mobile phone; a tool that helps reach out through spoken words and messages, pictures and videos, any social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. not just leisurely to our families and friends but also timely to fulfill our duties towards the societal brethren in the event of such a need arising. Did the ancient swordsmen not commit any folly in their upkeep for their swords and if not then how could we become like them ever ready with their ready swords and ever more ready at any time to be present at the call of duty? The very sight of such sword wielding swordsmen come to their relief earned them respect among the rural peasants. This was obvious because of the display of confidence and fearlessness emanating from their horse mounted selves. With the mobile have we ever been so confident with ourselves so as to earn the much needed respect from our elders at home or from our bosses at work or from our family members and well wishers at any social get together? How often have we been unable to inform our near and dear ones the sudden change of travel plan, a mishap, a traffic chaos, task delay, happy tidings and such events that may have been pleasant and at times unpleasant? How often in our workplace had we to face our mobiles not charged thereby unable to completely partake/convey official information? Inability to do so could have serious implications on our career on account of misunderstandings and incorrect decision making resulting every now and then a chaotic workplace environment highly unfavorable for HR growth. No matter how unpleasant at times a conversation be, our very voice heard could offer solace to the ones who have been impatiently awaiting to hear from us and hence in this context how could we ensure a cent percent connectivity? We know technology on its part has offered this mobile phone that seems to be as good as custom made for us in this modern age but nothing more to offer other than the uninterrupted service (let us assume call drops and such technical glitches as negligible in our discussion here) provisions for it and hence manning the mobile phone alone appropriately would be an in-demand skill to be learnt.
Hence the answer is in building up mobilephonemanship skills akin to the swordsmanship of the gone by ancient days. The swordsman survived by his sword. He who neglected his sword forfeited his worthy good self too. So also the mobile phone today is no better than an inseparable working tool and negligence on our part even to a simple thing as forgetting to charge up the phone could someday render our phone to be a mere box weighing heavily with the already built up guilt of not able to reach out and connect appropriately to the right person at the right time. So any of the ways one adopts here to sharpen one's skills on mobilephonemanship goes without saying that if one forgets to breath in air it is an OK but forgetting the everyday upkeep and readiness of the mobile phone is but a big NO. The mobile phone literally has become next only to the air that we breathe rather it has become our oxygen cylinder meaning we today give more importance to continued connectivity via. our mobiles that round the clock we are continuously communicating and somehow have forgotten to breathe, eat and sleep properly or rather to live properly. The motivational force behind such a 'keep in touch' attitude has arise of late due to the need for posting one's status update regularly on social media as also pursuing career excellence at the cost of unhealthy living lifestyle. Unhealthy living is stressful living offsetting the invention of the mobile phone which was mainly to ease our ongoing lives. However elaborating more on this drawback which is a bitter truth for us civilized people is beyond the scope of this post and hence reserved for a later date as presently more important are knowing the art of making the best use of one's mobile phone at all necessary times especially when technology and infrastructure for the same are available at hand and quiet encouraging so that we may pursue in this direction to achieve such a status update in the near future. The coined word mobilephonemanship hence speaks for itself as learning the art of successfully manning the mobile phone either when at home or when away from home traveling to a distant place such that there never would occur an incident when one felt the mobile phone as an necessary burden. Learning the art would imply 'mobilephonemanship' as a skill that awaits sharpening so as to be perfected and mastered. Perfection and mastery as we know happens to be a never ending process as there always would come a 'scope for improvement' in every success that one may achieve implying that such success would become a relative factor when our eyes face someone who has achieved a much higher level of success.
Finally what could be the many ways one could adopt to sharpen one's skill on mobilephonemanship? The answer goes without saying; our clothes and their upkeep! We are all dress conscious irrespective of our income slab. Unlike two decades back when one had limited varieties in clothes wear, today we have ample for different occasions. The varieties too come in different colors and designs. However one common thing still persists today and would forever i.e. cleaning and ironing those clothes befitting for the particular occasion may it be a family or a social one. So developing a 'presence of mind' to attend our mobile phone's upkeep and charging at the same time as when done for our clothes could help levitate in the long run the problems we face because we are again basically dress conscious. Hence practicing acceptance of our mobile phones as an extension of the clothes we wear not just from the 'color' or 'size' matching point of view but also for readiness to use becomes a skill awaiting recognition and improvement. But again could this work out when traveling far away from home because when away from home one could always arrange for a pair of extra clothing from the nearest shop or at the least through a local tailor for the period of travel. But in case of mobiles are we assured of availing electric connect points for the mobile charger wherever we travel. In cities and towns this matter may not be serious but if for any reason whatsoever one happens to be in a rural area; an area of frequent power cuts, very common among most Asian countries then how would one use the mobile phone? It would not be wrong to put the analogy of the swordsman who ventured into unknown territory without his sword. Such actual life happenings are usually experienced by most news reporters when reporting from remote backward areas with dearth of basic facilities and also areas that have been facing blatant misuse of human rights and other social issues that may have communication facilities but you never know when they may malfunction to be unusable. Hence to be on the safe side one need to assess and cross check the alternate routes to reach one's destination that could provide not just mobile connectivity but also charging facilities en route as a review of such alternatives beforehand especially when traveling far away from home is a right call for polishing our 'presence of mind' and not act hurriedly. The knights too had been known to ready themselves beforehand in the event of a probable face-off with unknown enemies in unknown territories through appropriate pre-investigation and association with the local rural folks. If the review should confirm unsuitability of mobile use during such a travel then the least one could inquire would be the good possibilities to reach out for the good old post offices with their working vintage telephones and not adopt a procrastination attitude to this issue with a belief that one could always find a good Samaritan or two who would readily lend their own mobile phones to strangers.
To conclude one may adopt any innovative methods or strive to plan for the same that suits them best, eases their daily life routines and helps echo such practice to others too in their vicinity thereby help justify the need of today for such in-demand skill development.
Some twenty years back I remember one incident that happened with me late evening in my native home. There were no mobiles then and the vintage black landline telephone was the only way to communicate with faraway friends, relatives and others because the next faster communication media was the telegram service at the nearby post office. So an urgent official call requesting a postponement of my job interview dates due to unavoidable circumstances were to be conveyed not later than that day but the post office was closed by then as also the company's office. No one would have picked up the phone had I attempted to call on them that left me thinking on what could be done now? It was then that a gentleman arrived and using the same telephone he managed to send a telegram via. a service called 'phonogram' highlighting my present inability with a request for any available dates in the coming near future. Such a service was available and we in our family were in the dark about its existence maybe in heat of the moment.
So the moral of the story rather the actual incident was that had it not been for the gentleman's 'presence of mind' I would have never ever been able to connect with the company and present my request for the change of dates. It is obvious from above that a timely connect could result in a positive outcome but that however is not so important! In my personal opinion what matters more in today's age is the ability to connect oneself, enable one's voice to reach the right person at the right place and most important at the right time because such an initiative when taken positively helps one to allow that little space for destiny to take over and decide on the probable outcome from the other end. Somehow a 'presence of mind' in today's context on such communication tools viz. the mobile phones, the variety of them with their available variety of features that help to deal with our day to day life activities seems to be quiet misplaced as many people buy them seeking the needed features i.e. you could buy a mobile phone and a suitable plan that fits into your scheme of lifestyle unlike in the old days when the big black telephone ruled the roost. If suited either one had to buy it or forget it!
Let us now take the example of our three close friends whom we had met when reading this blog's Home page. They are but a carefree type of youngsters ever waiting for a chance to play truant; very typical of today's generation. One of them has approached his college early in the morning to seek the calm environment of the library and study for the exam to be held in the day's afternoon session as a quick revision and practice would always help clear the exam. But on reaching the college to his utter bewilderment he finds that the exam is scheduled now in the very morning session and not afternoon to which he whips out his sword I mean his mobile phone but finds the battery is very low. Now should he call up his other two friends and ask them to leave their houses immediately and come to college for they all had made a serious mistake in interpreting the exam time table put up days before on the notice board. On second thoughts should he first charge his mobile and then talk but talking later would be futile and talking now would render his mobile switched off dead and thence become unable to receive personal calls that could be urgent. So we have a very bad situation for our friend what with a mobile phone available in hand, battery low and no time to charge. The situation demanded a sacrifice of good friendship had he to decide on not inform them about the actual exam timings as against his own personal needs or maybe at the instant let go off his personal issues on a priority basis. A mental agony as this to decide what to do in the face of an unexpected looming exam session that went overlooked would be the last thing a student appearing for an exam would need; enough for anyone to remain tensed the whole day. One may even be tempted to throw away in anger the mobile in hand a scene quiet often depicted in films that showcases the irresponsible behavior of not acknowledging the statically positioned old telephone's development today to becoming mobile with our own mobility and it of becoming a part of us just like the clothes we normally wear. Clothes protect us from excess sunlight, dust, dirt and so should be analogically expected from the mobile phone. Such instances of our friend above seems quiet harmless unless one has had to experience something more bitter than their situation thus qualifying the coined word 'mobilephonemanship' as an in-demand skill awaiting recognizance. So what could be this word 'mobilephonemanship' that could cut across all age, gender, race, etc. in society today? Read on to find more!
Do we ever wonder how and why we still find ourselves at loss when an important call is to be made and our mobile phone's balance shows nil or the phone is not charged up or the charger is there but no available electric points. The worst part although very unlike to happen would be to forget the phone either at home or elsewhere. Summing up we have today the mobile phone as similar to a sword donned by the knights in the days of yore especially found from the folk tales prominent among western countries but no books on ancient knighthood history would ever mention a swordsman riding the countryside and putting up with duty on a borrowed sword because his own needed sharpening. No books either would mention the greatness of the sword wielded rather than the charged flesh that wields it. Finally no history books would ever mention a knight claiming helplessness for having forgotten to bring his sword with him. A swordsmanship has therefore meant to be the skill of the swordsman to make best use of his sword at all times seconded by many a philosophical books that have equated the sharpness of the sword to the purity of the mind and soul.
So how should we manage this God gifted tool as a mobile phone; a tool that helps reach out through spoken words and messages, pictures and videos, any social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. not just leisurely to our families and friends but also timely to fulfill our duties towards the societal brethren in the event of such a need arising. Did the ancient swordsmen not commit any folly in their upkeep for their swords and if not then how could we become like them ever ready with their ready swords and ever more ready at any time to be present at the call of duty? The very sight of such sword wielding swordsmen come to their relief earned them respect among the rural peasants. This was obvious because of the display of confidence and fearlessness emanating from their horse mounted selves. With the mobile have we ever been so confident with ourselves so as to earn the much needed respect from our elders at home or from our bosses at work or from our family members and well wishers at any social get together? How often have we been unable to inform our near and dear ones the sudden change of travel plan, a mishap, a traffic chaos, task delay, happy tidings and such events that may have been pleasant and at times unpleasant? How often in our workplace had we to face our mobiles not charged thereby unable to completely partake/convey official information? Inability to do so could have serious implications on our career on account of misunderstandings and incorrect decision making resulting every now and then a chaotic workplace environment highly unfavorable for HR growth. No matter how unpleasant at times a conversation be, our very voice heard could offer solace to the ones who have been impatiently awaiting to hear from us and hence in this context how could we ensure a cent percent connectivity? We know technology on its part has offered this mobile phone that seems to be as good as custom made for us in this modern age but nothing more to offer other than the uninterrupted service (let us assume call drops and such technical glitches as negligible in our discussion here) provisions for it and hence manning the mobile phone alone appropriately would be an in-demand skill to be learnt.
Hence the answer is in building up mobilephonemanship skills akin to the swordsmanship of the gone by ancient days. The swordsman survived by his sword. He who neglected his sword forfeited his worthy good self too. So also the mobile phone today is no better than an inseparable working tool and negligence on our part even to a simple thing as forgetting to charge up the phone could someday render our phone to be a mere box weighing heavily with the already built up guilt of not able to reach out and connect appropriately to the right person at the right time. So any of the ways one adopts here to sharpen one's skills on mobilephonemanship goes without saying that if one forgets to breath in air it is an OK but forgetting the everyday upkeep and readiness of the mobile phone is but a big NO. The mobile phone literally has become next only to the air that we breathe rather it has become our oxygen cylinder meaning we today give more importance to continued connectivity via. our mobiles that round the clock we are continuously communicating and somehow have forgotten to breathe, eat and sleep properly or rather to live properly. The motivational force behind such a 'keep in touch' attitude has arise of late due to the need for posting one's status update regularly on social media as also pursuing career excellence at the cost of unhealthy living lifestyle. Unhealthy living is stressful living offsetting the invention of the mobile phone which was mainly to ease our ongoing lives. However elaborating more on this drawback which is a bitter truth for us civilized people is beyond the scope of this post and hence reserved for a later date as presently more important are knowing the art of making the best use of one's mobile phone at all necessary times especially when technology and infrastructure for the same are available at hand and quiet encouraging so that we may pursue in this direction to achieve such a status update in the near future. The coined word mobilephonemanship hence speaks for itself as learning the art of successfully manning the mobile phone either when at home or when away from home traveling to a distant place such that there never would occur an incident when one felt the mobile phone as an necessary burden. Learning the art would imply 'mobilephonemanship' as a skill that awaits sharpening so as to be perfected and mastered. Perfection and mastery as we know happens to be a never ending process as there always would come a 'scope for improvement' in every success that one may achieve implying that such success would become a relative factor when our eyes face someone who has achieved a much higher level of success.
Finally what could be the many ways one could adopt to sharpen one's skill on mobilephonemanship? The answer goes without saying; our clothes and their upkeep! We are all dress conscious irrespective of our income slab. Unlike two decades back when one had limited varieties in clothes wear, today we have ample for different occasions. The varieties too come in different colors and designs. However one common thing still persists today and would forever i.e. cleaning and ironing those clothes befitting for the particular occasion may it be a family or a social one. So developing a 'presence of mind' to attend our mobile phone's upkeep and charging at the same time as when done for our clothes could help levitate in the long run the problems we face because we are again basically dress conscious. Hence practicing acceptance of our mobile phones as an extension of the clothes we wear not just from the 'color' or 'size' matching point of view but also for readiness to use becomes a skill awaiting recognition and improvement. But again could this work out when traveling far away from home because when away from home one could always arrange for a pair of extra clothing from the nearest shop or at the least through a local tailor for the period of travel. But in case of mobiles are we assured of availing electric connect points for the mobile charger wherever we travel. In cities and towns this matter may not be serious but if for any reason whatsoever one happens to be in a rural area; an area of frequent power cuts, very common among most Asian countries then how would one use the mobile phone? It would not be wrong to put the analogy of the swordsman who ventured into unknown territory without his sword. Such actual life happenings are usually experienced by most news reporters when reporting from remote backward areas with dearth of basic facilities and also areas that have been facing blatant misuse of human rights and other social issues that may have communication facilities but you never know when they may malfunction to be unusable. Hence to be on the safe side one need to assess and cross check the alternate routes to reach one's destination that could provide not just mobile connectivity but also charging facilities en route as a review of such alternatives beforehand especially when traveling far away from home is a right call for polishing our 'presence of mind' and not act hurriedly. The knights too had been known to ready themselves beforehand in the event of a probable face-off with unknown enemies in unknown territories through appropriate pre-investigation and association with the local rural folks. If the review should confirm unsuitability of mobile use during such a travel then the least one could inquire would be the good possibilities to reach out for the good old post offices with their working vintage telephones and not adopt a procrastination attitude to this issue with a belief that one could always find a good Samaritan or two who would readily lend their own mobile phones to strangers.
To conclude one may adopt any innovative methods or strive to plan for the same that suits them best, eases their daily life routines and helps echo such practice to others too in their vicinity thereby help justify the need of today for such in-demand skill development.
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