People are more important than business, technology

I'm going to risk sounding like one of those chronic curmudgeons who hates technology, or who didn't invest his money in the stock market.

Well, I don't and I did, so don't just write off my frustration to sour grapes.

I'm tired, really tired, of hearing about the internet, e-anything, or the stock market. Every newspaper, news magazine and newscast I come across inevitably mentions one or the other, or all three.

Even NPR and PBS sometimes seem to be mostly technology and business most of the time. (OK, I know we also are drowning in political news, but that's another column.)

For the record, the internet has not transformed my life. I use it. Sometimes I enjoy using it. It certainly can save some time sometimes. Other times it's a waste of time. Mostly, I don't have time to spend much time on it.

Or let's talk about good, old Christmas while we're at it. Christmas, which we long ago lost to the celebration of conspicuous consumption anyway, seemed this time around to be more about whether e-commerce had arrived, whether pure "clicks" would beat out "bricks and mortar," or whether a new "clicks and mortar" retail model would prevail (and if that doesn't make sense to you, please let me know what you're reading or listening to so I can, too).

And we were breathlessly assured that this holiday season would probably make or break this or that e-commerce upstart. I know I'm sure worried.

Even the stock markets are now the focus of minute to minute reporting. What's up, what's down, and what's what captivates our attention (or, at least it's supposed to). The most recent product innovation, merger, or price fluctuation is announced as if it has earth shattering consequences.

I have no doubt that the internet will provide more access for more people to more information than has ever before been available. And it will eventually allow us to do a whole lot more things faster and easier.

There is also no doubt that money is important. In our culture money is what assures food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads.

The stock market has created a lot of wealth in the past decade and helped a lot of people to live better.

The problem I have is that we're starting to act like all this is all that's really important. And it's just not.

More information does not automatically translate into more wisdom. We can know a whole lot more and not be a whole lot happier. Fast can quickly become frantic if we're not careful. When things become too easy we cheat ourselves of the satisfaction that comes with investing our time, energy and effort in something that's important to us.

Even money has its limits. It's the old "hierarchy of needs" idea. Once we have reached a certain basic level of material comfort and security, wealth offers little in the way of real happiness and fulfillment.

The accumulation of more and more things doesn't guarantee much more than that we'll have lots of things.

So what are we missing? Interestingly enough, it's usually just each other.

For as long as humankind has pondered what makes life worth living, the answers have always had to do with how and how much we relate to the people around us.

All the great religious movements and many of the most popular secular philosophies call us to find true happiness in the quality and quantity of our interpersonal relationships.

We're talking about family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, casual acquaintances, the strangers we bump into at the gas station, even the strangers on the other side of the planet who are affected by how we choose to run our own little corner of the world.

We're talking about the old tried and true "treat others the way you'd like to be treated," or the one about "the greatest gift is the gift of yourself."

These are not new ideas. They're even supported by all sorts of research into what people really need to find life meaningful and satisfying. What's also not new is that we seem to forget all this on a regular basis.

I've stopped reading the business section of the newspaper. I switch stations when the announcer starts to talk about "the market." I've started walking through stores again. I don't care what the Federal Reserve chairman had for lunch and how it will impact on the prime rate.

President Calvin Coolidge is quoted as saying that "the business of America is business." That may be true, but I suggest that we'd all be a lot happier if our business was also each other.

• Dr. Ken Potts is on the staff of Samaritan Counseling Center in Naperville and Downers Grove. He is the author of "Mix Don't Blend, A Guide to Dating, Engagement and Remarriage With Children."