Change is Inevitable; Some Changes Are Not Good

Perhaps age has brought me maturity. On the other hand, some might say I am hanging on to "old ways" that no longer apply or are not relevant to life today.

For every change that occurs from generation to generation which brings enrichment into our lives, there is a negative effect. Just when we think we have reached the limits of simplifying life, making our tasks easier, and generally enabling us to enjoy more free time, someone comes up with another improvement, leaving everything in its wake in the "dark ages".

By all rational, this is a good thing. The strides we have made would boggle the minds of our descendents. So much of the everyday chores are now accomplished by the press of a button. Instead of hours it only takes moments. What use to take a well planned week of work in order to free up our weekends now takes planning one day to get it all done.

School performance took huge steps with the introduction of the calculator. Later, electric typewriters became the ultimate machine for performing much of the required school work. That lasted until computers replaced those and the advancements became limitless. Learning would be so much easier.

The workplace has been simplified in ways that today's generation could not even begin to imagine. Let it suffice to say, today's young people entering the workforce would not have survived one day performing the duties of the simplest office position back in the '50s and '60s. Heck, I lived it and can hardly believe the archaic methods of those times.

With all of this wonderful technology and the advancement in brain power that it brought with it, we have lost, sacrificed, so much. And in all fairness to the great strides we have accomplished in a relatively short period of time, the fault does not rest with inventions that make our lives so much better. We must personally take responsibility for all we have lost.

The sad part about all this progress is, so many people are not even aware of what they have sacrificed in order to take advantage of the way life has been streamlined and made effortless. So many people don't even realize how much free time they have because of these advancements in every facet of their lives.

Although time and space does not allow for a detailed accounting of the "not good" changes that have taken place as we progressed into the 21st century, I would like to briefly include some of the most important sacrifices.

All the free time we should have due to technology has eluded most people and has been replaced by stress of major proportions. We no longer have time for socializing, entertaining, or spending quality family time. We get in touch through cell phones and e-mails rather than take the time to become involved in a personal way. Other people are not worthy of our valuable time... although we were suppose to gain more time for interaction with others.

The idea of being polite is a foreign concept to most people. Good manners are no longer taught and have not been learned for at least one generation back. This has absolutely nothing to do with the advancements in technology or any new invention that has made life easier. It has to do with becoming self-centered and lazy. It has to do with lack of discipline in most areas of existence. There is no sharing or caring for others. It takes time to do this, and... of course, we don't have time for others.

Raising children has become a job someone else is paid to do. Children have become those little people that guilt ridden parents shower with every conceivable device that comes on the market. These little people share the same house space, but they do not share the time. Parents seem to wonder why these little people won't listen or obey them, or follow the rules, but nobody has time to explain the rules to them. The parents seem to be too busy spending all their "free time" doing whatever it is they do in their free time. And, after all, there just isn't enough time for everything!

Health issues rank near the top of the list. Because there is so little time, the family meals have been sacrificed for fast food. This is on a catch-as-catch-can basis. Adults and children both are eating their way to a heart attack. Overweight is rampant among children. Just look around. Fat children become fat adults. One would think with all the new diets and the information available at our fingertips, that families would be extra cautious about their eating habits. Do young parents even know how to cook? But, once again, it takes time to learn good eating habits and who has the time?

We don't live in a perfect world. However, I am old enough to realize when technology took over, I embraced it in varying degrees. I will be the first to say my spare time has been increased over the years to the point that boredom could easily set in. I've raised my family, cared for grandchildren, cared for a disabled husband, and still needed to fill in the "me" time. I'm compassionate by nature. I need interaction with people. I don't own a cell phone because frankly, I don't want to be hunted down if I am not home. That's what my answering machine is for.

Thus, my imperfect world has been utilized to suit what I consider to be the really important things in life. I love having all the conveniences and especially having my computer. But my life is simplified because I choose to keep it that way. Even without the conveniences, time is very important because you never know when you will run out of it. The only thing in life important enough to leave for my family are the memories they will have of belonging to a family who shared and cared and learned about life together.