I continue to be amazed by the increasing use of words heavy with theological overtones by business authors. Take the word "trust" for example. 

Stephen R. Covey (The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen R. Covey, Stephen M.R. Covey, and Rebecca R. Merrill (Paperback - Feb 5 2008)) and Jeffrey Gitomer (Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Teal Book of Trust: How to Earn It, Grow It, and Keep It to Become a Trusted Advisor in Sales, Business and Life by Jeffrey Gitomer (Hardcover - Dec 17 2008)) are two noteworthy entries.

"Trust" is very prevalent in discussions about Web 2.0 and what will characterize the coming world.

Jeff Jarvis, in his helpful book What Would Google Do?, devotes an entire chapter to exploring trust as a key characteristic of a Google world.

"Trust is an act of opening up; it's a mutual relationship of transparency and sharing. The more ways you find to reveal yourself and listen to others, the more you will build trust, which is your brand." Jarvis could be writing to the church.

[A two-part series. See Part 2 here.]

The yard next door is festering with broken garden ornaments, jars and bottles galore, and heaps of scraggly furniture remnants. Boxes, books, old bicycle wheels, and Christmas decorations pile up against the windows.

The Spring 2009 issue of Geez magazine is devoted to "Experiments with Truth," lifestyle experiments that explore social justice and spirituality. Below is one of the experiments from the issue.

Slightly Re-sensitized: A Month of Under-Stimulation
by Will Braun

My experiment was complicated and mundane. And it starts with a complicated and mundane confession. I am disturbingly susceptible to informational over-stimulation.

I turn the computer on too often. For work, for pleasure, just because.

I check my email too often. Even though I am generally disappointed both if there is new mail (more shit to do) or not (need to go back to what I was trying to distract myself from).

I check the Globe and Mail website too often. Not because I want to inform myself about the needs of the world but just for some titillation, or diversion, or just something. Like eating when you’re not hungry (yes, I do that too).

I turn the radio on too often (mostly public broadcasting). Not usually out of healthy interest, but for an info “fix.” I’m restless inside, and not the good kind of restless. I need distraction, stimulation, anything. I need the radio on. I know this, because I can quite easily identify the times when I reach for the switch out of unhealthy need versus attentive interest.

I would turn the TV on far too often if we had one, which is one of the reasons we don’t.

By now all you amateur shrinks out there will have me pegged toward the OCD and ADD (or whatever they call it now) end of things. Well done. I confess. And I’m certainly not alone. We live in the information saturation age. Quantity trumps quality. Apple, Google and Mr. Gates virtually have our society on info intravenous.