Sometimes I wonder if I really should write on a blog. It seems like so much of society is glued to technology devices in order to keep up with social networking statuses and the like.
I was thinking about how when I was younger, I made it a point to memorize my first cousins' birthdays. It kind of made me the person to ask when my other relatives didn't remember the date of someone's birthday. I thought it was cool to have birthdays memorized.
Nowadays, with Facebook, we do not have to take the time to remember birthdays anymore. We also do not have to spend time with any of our friends or family anymore because we can stay up to date on most people's lives by going on Facebook and reading statuses. In other words, social networking is allowing the human race to care less about their fellow human friends and we end up having so many acquaintances that we have to rely on Facebook to tell us when so many people celebrate their birthdays. This concept is sad to me.
Facebook has taken the place of instant messaging too. As such, I imagine AIM Instant Messaging, Yahoo Instant Messaging, and any other well-known instant messaging software has lost demand. Free google mail accounts and social networking sites with emailing capabilities also removed the need to pay for email services in order to keep in touch with each other.
It also reduced the amount of mail being sent through the US Postal Service. Writing letters by hand has become a dying art, so letters and cards matter more when they are received in a physical mailbox, which nowadays is dominated by assorted bills, coupons, sale ads, and marketing materials.
As I think about how the Internet is cheaper to use in some ways, I also have noticed that phone and cable companies still manage to charge Internet use bills. Bundle systems can be quite pricey. Hence, perhaps having individual access to the Internet in our homes still means technology use is expensive. One of the things we can rely on as humans is: we can always rely on humankind to come up with a way to extort money out of people for services (even if some of those services become free, life is still WAY WAY expensive).
I suppose the expensive aspects of life are strongly associated with the standard of living desired. If we want convenience of home wireless networks, individual cars to drive anywhere we want at any time we want, and assorted television channels to watch at any given moment at home, life can be expensively convenient.
The obsession with social networking keeps us away from spending time with people the old-fashioned way: by calling them up and setting up a quality time date. Even with all the technology in the world, the quality time I have spent with my family away from obsessive technology are the memories I cherish most.
Even though technology can have its drawbacks, there are still aspects of it that contribute to magical memories. I always liked listening to my Walkman while I went on road trips or sat fishing at various bodies of water on family vacations. As I grew older, devices for listening to music have changed from Walkman to portable CD player to Ipod/Zune. As a result, musical enrichment has always been an aspect of technology development to respect and appreciate.
Another aspect of technology development that has a great power to affect us is audio-visual devices. Family movies can remind us of times we may have forgotten or touched us. Photographs can commemorate memories, friends, and family that matter to us (either dead or alive). Having pictures of life over time can help us reminisce and reflect on what kind of lives we have led. Photographs can be treasures because they are not only images, but captured moments in this fleeting life.
Overall, technology is both hindering the quality of the human social experience through the advent of social networking obsessions and enhancing it via better means to listen to music, to video-record and to photograph events with video and digital cameras.
The question we must ponder is: Does technology benefit us more than it harms us? Where do we draw the line between constructive and destructive technology?
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Enlightenment, Yoga, and Pondering the Significance of Only One Life to Live
This post is more of an update about the last post. Ultimately, I decided to try to incorporate attitude-enhancing activities into my life like exercise, yoga, and meditation in order to cultivate a more positive attitude.
Sometimes life feels like it is spiraling out of control and we are helplessly caught in this whirlpool of destruction. However, seeking out guidance from others in times of need can be very beneficial to the trend direction of our life. I am very thankful to have a great immediate family and wonderful friends who have been extremely morally supportive.
My mom had told my little brother this past weekend that I would benefit from watching the recent Joel Osteen sermon on ABC Family. Mr. Osteen has such great perspectives on life that make me laugh and help me to see things differently and in a more affirmative light. I'm not a highly religious person, but I enjoy listening to Joel Osteen very much and I believe how we process our lives can have a significant impact on how we choose to live them.
Joel Osteen's message last weekend was Nothing is Wasted (Osteen 2014). His perspective on life is that sometimes things happen in life that stink, but stinky stuff is not always bad stuff (Osteen 2014). Osteen brings up the case example of how fertilizer is a key element to promote the growth of plants (Osteen 2014). As such, if people embraced the stinky stuff as the means to significant growth, people would have a better attitude about tough times in life and a better attitude can improve all facets of our lives (Osteen 2014). If bad stuff happens, it means we have the potential to grow from the experiences (Osteen 2014).
I also watched a yoga interview on a yoga DVD Getting Started With Yoga about relaxation. The yoga instructor Barbara talks about how people do not give themselves enough slack throughout their lives. People often try to take on more than they can handle and expect too much of themselves in a limited time span. Often it is best to slow down and set fewer attainable goals, so that we do not feel discouraged when we cannot achieve the unachievable. Learning how to slow down, set achievable goals, and spend time on relaxation every once in awhile allows us to treat our mind and body like our friend, as it should be.
In truth, we are only given one body in which to live a single life inside. As such, we must take care to nurture our body and appreciate life in a beneficial way. (**This is only true, if you do not believe in reincarnation.) (**And if you believe in the conservation of energy, perhaps this premise would not work either. If someone dies, the energy within their soul would find a new body. In My Soul to Take, this idea takes a very sinister turn.)
In any case, we are all human (unless aliens read my blog too) and life is full of surprises, both good ones and bad ones. Hence, learning how to take these surprises in stride can make us happier and more productive people.
I hope that I can continue to grow. I'm always amazed when I find myself growing more as a person because I always regain the belief that I've reached maturity and then have something happen to make me see that growth is still possible (even in the wisest of us).
Works Cited
Getting Started With Yoga. Dir. Michael Wohl. Perf. Barbara Benagh. BodyWisdom Media, Inc., 2008. DVD.
My Soul to Take. Dir. Wes Craven. Perf. Max Thieriot, John Magaro, and Denzel Whitaker. Rogue, 2010. DVD.
Osteen, Joel. Nothing Is Wasted. ABC Family. 22 June 2014. LightSource.com. Web. 25 June 2014.
Sometimes life feels like it is spiraling out of control and we are helplessly caught in this whirlpool of destruction. However, seeking out guidance from others in times of need can be very beneficial to the trend direction of our life. I am very thankful to have a great immediate family and wonderful friends who have been extremely morally supportive.
My mom had told my little brother this past weekend that I would benefit from watching the recent Joel Osteen sermon on ABC Family. Mr. Osteen has such great perspectives on life that make me laugh and help me to see things differently and in a more affirmative light. I'm not a highly religious person, but I enjoy listening to Joel Osteen very much and I believe how we process our lives can have a significant impact on how we choose to live them.
Joel Osteen's message last weekend was Nothing is Wasted (Osteen 2014). His perspective on life is that sometimes things happen in life that stink, but stinky stuff is not always bad stuff (Osteen 2014). Osteen brings up the case example of how fertilizer is a key element to promote the growth of plants (Osteen 2014). As such, if people embraced the stinky stuff as the means to significant growth, people would have a better attitude about tough times in life and a better attitude can improve all facets of our lives (Osteen 2014). If bad stuff happens, it means we have the potential to grow from the experiences (Osteen 2014).
I also watched a yoga interview on a yoga DVD Getting Started With Yoga about relaxation. The yoga instructor Barbara talks about how people do not give themselves enough slack throughout their lives. People often try to take on more than they can handle and expect too much of themselves in a limited time span. Often it is best to slow down and set fewer attainable goals, so that we do not feel discouraged when we cannot achieve the unachievable. Learning how to slow down, set achievable goals, and spend time on relaxation every once in awhile allows us to treat our mind and body like our friend, as it should be.
In truth, we are only given one body in which to live a single life inside. As such, we must take care to nurture our body and appreciate life in a beneficial way. (**This is only true, if you do not believe in reincarnation.) (**And if you believe in the conservation of energy, perhaps this premise would not work either. If someone dies, the energy within their soul would find a new body. In My Soul to Take, this idea takes a very sinister turn.)
In any case, we are all human (unless aliens read my blog too) and life is full of surprises, both good ones and bad ones. Hence, learning how to take these surprises in stride can make us happier and more productive people.
I hope that I can continue to grow. I'm always amazed when I find myself growing more as a person because I always regain the belief that I've reached maturity and then have something happen to make me see that growth is still possible (even in the wisest of us).
Works Cited
Getting Started With Yoga. Dir. Michael Wohl. Perf. Barbara Benagh. BodyWisdom Media, Inc., 2008. DVD.
My Soul to Take. Dir. Wes Craven. Perf. Max Thieriot, John Magaro, and Denzel Whitaker. Rogue, 2010. DVD.
Osteen, Joel. Nothing Is Wasted. ABC Family. 22 June 2014. LightSource.com. Web. 25 June 2014.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Hunting for Work, Critical Relatives, Judgment vs. Love, A Better Kinder World, and Life's Trenches
I have come to the realization that disappointing my extended family terrifies me. June has just started and right before it became June, I found myself sending out a ton of resumes and applying to jobs. The sad part about it is that this sudden need to desperately find a job was initiated by the terror of knowing that my extended family would rip me a new one if I attend an upcoming family bridal shower without one.
I'm currently trying to work out a final requirement for graduation and the lack of knowing what tasks or commitments will be expected from me this summer has created a lot of uncertainty. I am limited for job seeking due to the lack of availability awareness. I'm also limited in what I can say on my resume because I should have graduated in May, but without meeting this final requirement, I might have to extend the graduation date I report on my resume and on future job applications. As such, a job hunt that would have been easier with known certifications has become more complicated.
I don't think family should be judgmental towards one another. Being judgmental is not conducive with love. To truly love someone else, we must accept them and love them for who they are. Judging others is not even what mere mortals should do. The only person who knows all the wise and unwise things we have done is each individual and possibly the universal consciousness. Whether these things were good or bad, right or wrong, and what the overall tally is is usually complicated. Logic sometimes is not one absolute versus another absolute. Often, it is hard to decide what is the best option and sometimes the benefits do not equal the consequences. Sometimes we do not know all of the parameters making up a paradigm.
All I know for sure is that it is wrong that I feel like being around my extended family is the same as being blindfolded in front of a firing squad. I understand that I haven't figured out my life yet. I understand that I should be working and paying my own way. I understand that lenders harassing my 83-year old grandmother and father most of the year for my past loans is wrong. I understand that my not having a job yet after what should have been my graduation is not ideal. I understand that not having a job in a family of workaholics means I'm scum to them. I realize that they may think I'm a waste of oxygen if I'm not being productive. I understand all of this. I have a brutal inner critic that is twice the bully that anyone else can be, but it hurts me even more when my inner bully has friends to root her on for my own mental collapse.
Why can't our loved ones be supportive?! I believe that if people were nicer to one another, we would be much more successful as a species. Furthermore, we all know who the supportive people are in our lives and these people are valued much higher than any of the others. Everybody wants to be accepted and treated as if they are worth something (even while they are going through a rough patch, even while they are in a mediocre job or are unemployed, even while they are losing their minds, even when they are different from most people, even when they have reached the absolute bottom of life's well of despair). We want to be heard, respected, valued, and treated like everyone deserves to be treated (courteously and as equals as fellow human beings).
I keep hoping the world will change and become a better place. However, it seems like the world stays mostly the same regardless of what initiatives are started in aims of exterminating bad practices by people towards other people. Sometimes, there are glimmers of hope and signs that all human beings are not morally bankrupt. We all cheer inside when someone out there does the right thing in a tough situation. I wish it happened more often.
I will keep dreaming about a better kinder world, while I avoid the haters in the trenches and only leave them covered with armor made of sarcasm for short journeys to different trenches. That's what life is: moving from one trench to another, hoping to survive long enough to find a trench worth fortifying and a treasure worth protecting. A treasure can be values, people, real estate, intellect, and anything else that matters to an individual enough to merit protecting from corruption.
I'm currently trying to work out a final requirement for graduation and the lack of knowing what tasks or commitments will be expected from me this summer has created a lot of uncertainty. I am limited for job seeking due to the lack of availability awareness. I'm also limited in what I can say on my resume because I should have graduated in May, but without meeting this final requirement, I might have to extend the graduation date I report on my resume and on future job applications. As such, a job hunt that would have been easier with known certifications has become more complicated.
I don't think family should be judgmental towards one another. Being judgmental is not conducive with love. To truly love someone else, we must accept them and love them for who they are. Judging others is not even what mere mortals should do. The only person who knows all the wise and unwise things we have done is each individual and possibly the universal consciousness. Whether these things were good or bad, right or wrong, and what the overall tally is is usually complicated. Logic sometimes is not one absolute versus another absolute. Often, it is hard to decide what is the best option and sometimes the benefits do not equal the consequences. Sometimes we do not know all of the parameters making up a paradigm.
All I know for sure is that it is wrong that I feel like being around my extended family is the same as being blindfolded in front of a firing squad. I understand that I haven't figured out my life yet. I understand that I should be working and paying my own way. I understand that lenders harassing my 83-year old grandmother and father most of the year for my past loans is wrong. I understand that my not having a job yet after what should have been my graduation is not ideal. I understand that not having a job in a family of workaholics means I'm scum to them. I realize that they may think I'm a waste of oxygen if I'm not being productive. I understand all of this. I have a brutal inner critic that is twice the bully that anyone else can be, but it hurts me even more when my inner bully has friends to root her on for my own mental collapse.
Why can't our loved ones be supportive?! I believe that if people were nicer to one another, we would be much more successful as a species. Furthermore, we all know who the supportive people are in our lives and these people are valued much higher than any of the others. Everybody wants to be accepted and treated as if they are worth something (even while they are going through a rough patch, even while they are in a mediocre job or are unemployed, even while they are losing their minds, even when they are different from most people, even when they have reached the absolute bottom of life's well of despair). We want to be heard, respected, valued, and treated like everyone deserves to be treated (courteously and as equals as fellow human beings).
I keep hoping the world will change and become a better place. However, it seems like the world stays mostly the same regardless of what initiatives are started in aims of exterminating bad practices by people towards other people. Sometimes, there are glimmers of hope and signs that all human beings are not morally bankrupt. We all cheer inside when someone out there does the right thing in a tough situation. I wish it happened more often.
I will keep dreaming about a better kinder world, while I avoid the haters in the trenches and only leave them covered with armor made of sarcasm for short journeys to different trenches. That's what life is: moving from one trench to another, hoping to survive long enough to find a trench worth fortifying and a treasure worth protecting. A treasure can be values, people, real estate, intellect, and anything else that matters to an individual enough to merit protecting from corruption.
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