Image by H. Kosin via FlickrWe march to the beat of movers and shakers of technology. It used to be I had only to keep abreast of the internet and its basic basket of goodies to make me feel smug about it all. After all, I can keep pace. Then there’s Web 2.0 and the whole shebang of social networks sprouting like mushrooms after the rain. It’s keeping me harried and inadequate.
I thought I had it good. I had a mobile with a built-in pen light. Until the street food vendor who parks his cart across from our office building flashes his mobile phone with cam and video. Darn.
Until this jerk in the office had crossed over from Friendster to MySpace. He’s now goofing around in Facebook. I bet he’d try blogging one of these days, if Twitter and Plurk give him so much as a lull to pick his nose.
It used to be we can get away not answering the landline phone. “Oh dear, I was at the grocery when you called.” Not today, you have your mobile with you. If you’re online, you cannot hide because there’s a program to unmask your stealth settings. You will be harangued if you so much as forget to call on Skype, which is a no-brainer because it’s free. “Busy? Are you sure? Cause I saw you and your friends horsing around in your undies on YouTube.”
And your boss at any moment of the day can call you to follow up on some freaking report he needs ASAP. You tell yourself, am I on vacation or what. You have no choice. You have your laptop with you.
By and large, the vital importance of technology to life, governance, and largely to empower individuals to realize his cherished dreams and aspirations cannot be discounted. It is ourselves we must tame and our tendency to run off like a headless chicken. We must learn to adopt it to enhance our way of life to make it truly empowering.
Although there’s a downside to it, the good news is that we have the final say as to how we conduct our affairs, picking up just the right tools to make us not only productive but also fulfilled individuals. And to make time for introspection or self-examination. Call it meditation. Solitude. Or taking refuge in your version of a panic room. Or tinkering around your own inner intricate wiring to finally touch base with your real, gracious and lovely self.
Give it a thought.
For more insights on the matter, here’s Tony Long’s brilliant article Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die
