Have a Meaningful Life!

At the rate that technology is moving, it is feared that human labor may be outrun.  More so,  because what used to be in comic books,  and James Bond movies have crossed-over fantasy to reality.

As we produce more and more people, with the population count of the world  from the U.S. Census Bureau  as of March 12 2012 reaching 7.066 billion and a population of 94.8 million  in the Philippines alone, with an expected 100% increase in ten years, our economy has a lot of catching up to do.

To cope with a widening world, computers are upgraded to meet the needs of business and families.  Supposedly, to give more time for essential things like family bonding. The “I ROBOT” idea may not be far from coming of age as house helps have steadily become a rare find.  Having robot nursemaids may not be far, and having children interact in a more mechanical rather than personal manner is also one thing we have to anticipate.

Some technocrats have tried to address the need for a more interpersonal engagement with the creation of cell phones that could transmit 4G or higher signals at real time.  The skype facility and other cyber technologies have made face-to-face communication via screens address the loneliness that grips one who is forced to work far from home.

Still nothing can replace the warmth of a real handshake or the comfort of a hug, or the encouragement in a spontaneous prodding that can only be done in close encounters.

So what is my point?

I just want us to notice how technology has made things quick for us.  We can do things that used to take so long in such a short time.  Because of this, we can do more.  Yet, as we do more, we still end up with more and more things to do.  And as most of us who are at work notice,  we  end up not noticing things at all!

We end each day wondering where the rest of the days have gone.  We go in at daylight and go home at nightfall. Sadly, some get to work young and realize after years of routine, balancing between stress and hard-earned relaxation, that time has passed you by, and may have missed out on the real point of life.

As employers, businessmen need to look into the relationship of productivity and happy homes.  A happy worker is a result of recognition at work, and a stable home life.

A t-shirt print shouted in front of me “HAVE A LIFE!”  then at the back of the shirt, were the short messages to “learn, live, love!”

How many of us have the time to really learn, to read and find out things that may not be related with work but that add to the wholeness of our being.  Or have you been in deep conversation with your friends lately just to share a laugh?  Or are you in the same restaurant with friends or even your spouse and as you sit eating together you realize you are not together at all?  He is so engrossed with his I-pad as you are so engrossed with your phone.   

You converse in short sentences, sometimes, without a thought at all, and just comply with the usual motions of an exchange without speaking or understanding each other at all and still blend out of habit.

Has technology really been helpful to us?  Or has it grabbed the humanity from us?  Are we so push-button? Or do we still know how to push the right buttons?

Let us cultivate meaningful relationships, one based on trust, reliability and sincerity.  These things cannot be transferred technologically, and will only work when felt.