I’m impressed with how quickly a vaccine has been created during our current pandemic. No one can effectively argue that the time we live in provides niceties past generations only dreamt about. It is commonly believed that technology has changed us for the better. Not only is science allowing for advancements in health, but networks connect us with ideas, introduce us to people we may not have met otherwise, and open access to nearly anything we want to experience.
Just today, a friend I met on an Uber ride messaged me asking if a quote her friend used on FaceBook from Jamestown, New York was mine? Oddly, it was to the surprise of both of us. Think with me for a minute about how genuinely unique this is. Two people who have never met are brought together through a friend from Austin, Texas, in a country with over three hundred million people!
Yet earlier, I was listening to a podcast where the guest suggested people from earlier times, if given a chance, wouldn’t trade places with us today. The thought was that while we can navigate the globe, eat fresh food delivered from another land, and order gifts to be delivered in the comfort of our homes. Our lives today are strung between the tension of ever more technology and a personal necessity of less.
When we take the time to settle down from the onslaught of media or the pressures of living in an unusual time, we find comfort in simplicity. Our needs are basic; we can exist and make high-value decisions without the need for anything but the creativity of an uncluttered mind and the thoughtfulness of an unburdened heart.
If you are like me, finding peace is sometimes tricky with all that occupy our lives today. I had an epiphany while listening to my university team’s quarterback in an interview after our game on Saturday. He was asked how our team bounced back after disheartening losses. His answer was this. “So what? Now what?”
When I heard these words, my heart immediately calmed as I thought about the roadblocks that exist when we allow our past to occupy our current. We can’t move forward with all our facilities if we are looking back at what-ifs. We certainly learn from our past but don’t need to remain stuck in the blocks of wondering how things may have been.
The technology of witnessing an interview from across the country has positively impacted my life. I find great peace in a mindset of so what on thinking about the past while looking forward to my now what for the future! I hope that technology can now pass this experience on to you so that you too can enjoy the same gift.