Now everyone is sitting at the table. I would love it if for just one moment you looked at everyone and everything on the table.
Now describe what you see.
Interestingly enough we all see and describe the same things, but the way we see them is different. I cannot see the way you see the plates, cups, utensils, and so on but they are there.
When all of us sit here and create a painting of what we see no 2 drawings will look the same… yet all the things within view will be there.
Can you say that the way I see something is wrong or I say the way you see something is right?
Now move up or down a degree, side to side… will it still look the same? Exactly how many perspectives from how many angles can the table and its contents be seen?
So are you capable of telling anyone what they see or whether the way they see is wrong or right? Some people are blind, what then? They simply cannot see what is directly in front of them.
To be kind when we don’t agree on what we see with each other is a beautiful characteristic, isn’t it?
It is easy for the mind to come to some conclusion or make a judgment on things, but anything that this life has shown me is that things aren’t always as they seem. As technology increasingly improves and seeps into everyone’s daily life, many see the benefits and conveniences of having “smart” devices and all the latest gadgets to make life ‘easier’.
With gaming and endless streams of content and NEWS from nearly everywhere on earth and even out to the stars we can easily be distracted and not see what is directly in front of us.
It is not for anyone to tell you, I am certain you know and can feel it, but at the excuse of convenience, we agree to more terms and conditions that we aren’t really sure or fully aware of that we are actually agreeing to, not even in the slightest.
Many moons ago getting my GENERAL EDUCATION DIPLOMA having decided school was nonsense and graduating as a special ed student was not something I wanted at the time on my record with the many other blemishes I accrued through my extracurricular activities. I was asked to write a paper on future technology and how it will benefit the world. I had recently watched a study somewhere done at some college about sleeping next to an electrical outlet can cause depression. My theory was if they are saying we are made up of 75% or so water and we are sitting next to electrical devices how can that be good for us.
It was extensive for a 16-year-old and I dove into the crisis that later will come and oddly enough it did in some way. The teachers all came to question me and eventually the Dean. This experience showed me I had an ability to get people to see things from another perspective.
My first experiences with computers weren’t so pleasant in the juvenile detention centers I was in. I would write an entire biography and go to change the font and color and poof it would just disappear. All that work I did, gone just like that.
“If it was written, it would be here in front of me!”
“Fable, you gotta save it”
“Yea I know you told me that already but where is it? I saved it this time!”
Fun times.
This feeling that life was being sucked from me after 13 or so hours had passed in the blink of an eye left me wanting to throw this computer out the fourth-floor window, smashing it onto the concrete below. This was the 90s and mom had worked very hard to get that computer so I simply stayed away from it. We had beeper —some of us on the block anyway, and being outside running around and having fun was way more appealing than sitting in front of a computer.
Now it’s almost as if the kids feel like they are being punished when I tell them “Go outside and play!”
I could only imagine the way the older generations feel about the changes that have come. Some adapted and thrived while others kept it old school. Both ways are awesome and appreciated as the old ways got us here today and to have some still practicing the old ways is a blessing. At least the old ways were effective hahaha.
What can we do now with technology to really bring us to the next level of being? Will technology free us and allow us to push our skills and experiences to limits we never thought possible? What of the sun?
I believe that instead of engaging in a race against machines, we shuold invest in a collaboration with them in which the “human factor” is trained, developed and enhanced.
We must not forget that only man is able to make a distinction so obvious that we often forget how evident and, above all, fundamental: the distinction between reality and fiction, between reality and desire, between reality and possibility.
Thank you Aldo for sharing your energy!
This would be the best version of technology that my imagination could come up with. I despised computers, phones, social media and everything i saw happening in the past…but now it is observed from an angle of what not to do and a lesson for future generations to look back upon this moment and choose a wiser path. If they wish.
Many warnings and signs are out there directly in front of us all now in plain sight like never before… as far as I am aware of and who may so choose will know.
I loved your table invitation, Jonathan. So true and so relatable.
When I was a young programmer coding applications on water cooled mainframes, I spent one night every week after evening classes with my grandmother who lived close to the school. She was born in 1888 and was very interested in what I was doing for a living. Good for her, she didn’t have to transfer personally from paper and pen to doing all interaction with the banks and public system via two factor authenticated e-mailboxes. But she was very curious, always interested in my tall tales from my job, and lived to be 100 – probably because she was always interested and curious.
Thank you charlotte, i appreciate your energy shared!
Great post, Jonathan
Reading this from your article “It is easy for the mind to come to some conclusion or make a judgment on things, but anything that this life has shown me is that things aren’t always as they seem” reminded me of opal crystals. The crystal is the same, but how it looks differs with the angle we view it and with the distance. People see different crystals of the same one.
How we view the technology “opal-like” crystal. It varies with age and experiences. But I must say that nothing is like personal human to human interactions. Machines are tools devoid of emotions and expressions. The biggest reality in life is people and no machine can replace human interactions and playing out enjoying nature. This is the natural way.
thank you!
Natural ways being nurtured is key if you ask me, connecting with nature and putting all the devices away…ahhh a beautiful life i see!
peace brother
Jonathan,
Great my brother. It resonates well where technology is concerned. I was raised up with it close behind me. In university my first purchase was a typewriter… not many of us had a computer…find a friend with one and put them in your study group…lol As I raised my kids with the new technology…I also had to deal with social media and cyber security…street safety and online safety….Might I say I did bluff my way through some of it. The learning curve was more advanced than that at my work station. Not to mention that to go outside and play…meant mommy had to watch them there too. The burden of so much technology and raising a family added more stress to peoples lives. I see the benefits… I also see the costs. Perception is key. No two things, people, or views is or was ever the same…. I like your mind and appreciate your work here. May we increase our space with the time technology saves and not try to fill it up with more demanding work. What was made to save time only advanced to people feeling more pressure to keep up. Thank you for your perspective and sharing this story
Paula
you are welcome and thank you Paula for taking the moment to read and respond!
it is a beautiful journey we are all on and to be living now has me feeling extremely grateful!
peace sister:)
Hi, Jonathan,
Glad to see (and hear) a new voice.
I believe technology, like language, art and experience, reflects and shapes us in equal portion. I would wish – and I try to do this in my own growth – that we will take more time and focus more energy on our own development. 99% of the human story has not well prepared us for the 1% we are living. Too much of the remarkable capacity of the human brain, emotions, and spirit is frittered away filling the bucket of fear and greed. As long as we indulge our darker nature, technology will simply act as a magnifying glass. I don’t believe technology has as much power to incite evolution as it does to highlight the crap we need to pay attention to and might develop the courage to face and change.
Be well.
Mac
Thank you Mac!
I appreciate you taking the moment to read and respond to this article!
Yes, what if there were a place we can build with technology and all the advancements that are being made that can assist us in the process of development and evolve so to speak instead of escapism… in the past there were temples with belief systems that would do this like shaolin for instance to achieve great skills and mastery of the arts not just martial but many forms of kung-fu.
As robots and artificial intelligence roll in and make our lives easier what jobs will be left for people to do?
We can be moving into the golden age and our future may be something beyond our wildest dreams when We focus on our own development or it can be an indulgence of our animal side as many great civilizations came to an end there was always a common theme before its destruction as far as I am aware of.
From our previous experiences perhaps we can choose a wiser path…
the saga continues!
peace brother!
Great comment, Mac. “I don’t believe technology has as much power to incite evolution as it does to highlight the crap we need to pay attention to and might develop the courage to face and change.”