Living in an ever-changing world

People often wonder, particularly my colleagues, friends, and close relatives, now that I have retired from my job and “gone to pasture” whether I find myself feeling useless and irrelevant to society, or miss the grinding deadlines and responsibilities that come with being a journalist. I tell them that this is the most relaxing time of my life and while there are days that I might miss the hustle and bustle most days I enjoy the quiet just being with family and preparing myself to meet my Maker.

The look of disbelief that usually crosses their faces when they hear this makes me smile. They often wonder if I might have gone over a proverbial cliff or if I was exaggerating or talking through my hat. But truly I am just finding peace in my every day life now. It helps that in a way, I had prepared myself for this part of life a long time ago. I think that may be why some people feel depressed or lonely in retirement, not having been prepared for a life shift. Some may even have had the misfortune of being abandoned by family and friends and are just looking for a way to survive.

A lot changes as we get older and we have to be sure not to squander what fortune we are able to acquire in our hey-day. I have repeatedly told colleagues in the past that life is like an elevator going up and going down. Much like the peaks and valleys analogy, there are times when we find ourselves on top and other times when we are so far down we’re not sure how we’ll make it out again. Nothing is ever truly permanent.

It reminds me of the Prodigal Son story from the Bible. How the son took his inheritance and went off to enjoy a life of wine, women, and song. How when his money went so to did his so-called friends and he was forced to return home a pauper just begging for even a place to sleep with the pigs. His father, however, was so overjoyed at his return that he welcomed him back as son and celebrated his return.

This reminds us that everything can go in an instant and is so fleeting. We should live well but within our means and plan for the future. At the same time we should also be helpful to those of have very little in life. We may never know when we could be on the receiving end of such kindness ourselves. After all, what goes around comes around and we should only put into the world, what we ourselves hope to take from it.

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Now that I am retired, aside from relaxing and spending time with family, I am also able to truly see the world changing around me. It’s been happening for a while but perhaps I was just too busy to really notice. Now that I have a little more time it has become so obvious how the world has changed so much in just the past decade alone. If someone had told me these things would happen I would not have believed it.

It’s truly a digital age and now so many people’s lives have changed because of technology. They can access information at the click of a button and stay in touch with loved ones across the ocean in an instant. It’s amazing what technology has done for the world and what it has the potential to still do. It’s building bridges and making the world a much smaller place. Innovation has changed the way we live and continues to do so on a daily basis.

And speaking of innovation in our ever shrinking world, I recently heard that Manny V. Pangilinan, or MVP as he is more commonly known, is set to head to Stanford University in California to speak at a sold out panel discussion event with the topic Business and Career Opportunities in Emerging Southeast Asia. MVP is a well-known global innovator and remains on the forefront of pushing technological boundaries in communication and so much more. It makes sense that he would be invited to speak at such a prestigious university that is also focused on pushing the boundaries of the future.

In fact, this marks the first time that a Filipino CEO will be addressing the students of Stanford. That’s something that should make us all proud. We are being recognized around the world and truly exporting our talents in every different field. Hearing how Filipinos are thriving in so many different ways all over the world constantly amazes me. Whether it’s being invited to speak at prestigious university events, winning singing contests, inventing revolutionary flashlights, or more, we have truly made our mark in so many different ways.

Just last Monday at the Oscars, Fil-Am songwriter Robert Lopez, along with his wife and co-writer, won the Oscar for best song for their famous song “Let it Go” from the also award-winning animated musical Frozen. I’m quite familiar with that song because it is my granddaughter’s absolute favorite and she will not stop singing it. I am pleased for Lopez as he becomes the youngest winner of the coveted EGOT or the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. What’s more, the songwriter was quoted backstage as dedicating his win to the Philippines who he knows has had a tough 2013. According to the news Lopez and his wife are planning to host a benefit concert for the Philippines in New York this March.

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Along the lines, again, of an ever-changing world, I recall an interesting news piece I read last year about Britain’s Oxford University Press declaring “selfie” the word of the year beating out twerking. Now when I first saw this, I must admit, I was at a loss as to what either of those words meant, but could not help but be interested because they both obviously had such a profound effect on the world today.

The selfie, or smartphone self-portrait, has indeed come to define the new generation. What started as a simple photo of oneself has evolved into a art and people around the world are trying to outdo each other’s selfies. Ellen Degeneres, in fact, made headlines also at the Oscars by taking the world’s best selfie alongside A-List Hollywood celebrities Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and more while the show was happening. This simple photograph snapped by Cooper on Ellen’s phone and uploaded to her Twitter has been retweeted over 2 million times (probably more by now) and shared just as many times on Facebook. Pretty impressive for a simple self-portrait.