Are We
Lucky?
Whenever I remember my
grandfather say “ you missed the wonderful days!” I wounded, why he considered
the old years wonderful?! There life was so difficult, they did not have
enough electricity, transportation facilities, Internet, video games, mobiles....
they had nothing! The only entertainments
they had were sailing, fishing or working in their lands. Their children wakes up every early morning to learn how to read and write at the neighborhood school. At the break time, they were
playing games using pieces of stones. Is this the wonderful word? Sorry
grandpa, I think it is not.
When I tried to find clues
behind his believes, I realize that he was enjoying what he do and he was happy
as he thought that it was the maximum to get at that time. Also, he did not
imagine that he might get what we have today.
Generation after generation,
life changes dramatically and many new things introduced to our life and
becomes a part of our daily practice. For example, smart phones had been introduced
a couple of years ago and becomes essential part of our new life style(E-mails,
alarms, calendar, entertainments, books..).
These accessories ease our communications and make all kind of knowledge
available by a finger touch. Wow, who
lucky we are.
When I was a child, I was so
excited when I saw Koky (Carton show) making a video call and when I first used
Skype I said “dreams comes trough”. Even though, do you think that ea are the luckiest generation or there will
be more excitement in the next generations? Are they going to have flaying cars
as the new cartons show! No body knows.
Advancements have distracted us from the basic love for life. When I was a kid, I used to love to eat roadside food from my meagre pocket money, and now when I have enough, I really don't have time to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteNorah, with all the advancements and technology that surround us, we cannot forget the simple things that are beautiful around us. For example, the sun sets in Cincinnati are quite spectacular (Mt. Storm offers some great views as do the views from the S building and the CARE building). I don't have a great understanding of the Jewish Shabbat but my Jewish friends in undergrad escaped technology and distractions and spent time with their community.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone should find time to escape from technology, especially their smart phone. The times I have taken a break were refreshing and allowed me to escape the stresses that come with being tethered to email, facebook, the expectations of others, etc.
After writing this Blog, I had a conversation with my uncles (40-50 years old) about the same issue. They was telling stories about their childhood adventures. And I found that I couldn't share the conversation. They had much fun than what I had.
ReplyDeleteI guess each generation has their own childhood adventures and stories to tell just because of the different era they were in. While we are enjoying the tech we have, we lose the nature environment that we could have experienced as well. But who says that we are not happy with what we have right now? And as for our parents, they also enjoyed the things they had in their era. There are always pros and cons. I'm sure if you suddenly bring a person out of his era, he wouldn't feel happy. I think we all have the ability to get alone and be satisfied with what we have, so I would say, why not just enjoy it and still appreciate the things we couldn't get to have?
DeleteI think lots of people have their “wonderful time” which contains their favorite environment, friends, events, and memories. We may satisfy with modern techniques for a while, but sooner or later we may anticipate new techniques. However, I believe there are some values which will not change with time. Friendship, for example, is one of the most important things to me. If I use smart phone and connect to Facebook, but there is not a real friend can share daily life with me, I will still feel lonely. However, if I have a real friend, I will feel happy even though I can only write a paper mail to him or her. I believe that we can find our “wonderful time” with these unchangeable values. I will also try my best to discover these values in my daily life, and make every moment to be my wonderful time.
ReplyDelete