ModernTechnology: A Blessing or a Curse?

Nowadays, life becomes complicated as our fascination of modern technology also intensified. Without thinking, these innovations affect our lives and we are vulnerable to becoming too dependent on them. Today, we are captivated by the various brands of impressive looking high-tech machines presented to us (take your pick). They are capable of taking us to the World Wide Web and a completely new way of entertaining. Thus, the cyber reality becomes our latest playground. 

In this day and age, we have a tendency to ignore our family and friends because we are always busy with our new leisure pursuit.  What surprises me though is that no one seems to care about the lack of time for each other. Everyone has his or her own thing to do. It is as if you do what pleases you and I’ll do mine.

Technology today is so widespread and addictive and we are paying the price. We have less and less time with each other.  Sometimes, I feel like my family has left me, though they are here living with me under the same roof. With the use of a wi-fi router device in our home, every family member can be online simultaneously. Our relatives and friends live just few blocks from us but we do not see each other eye to eye anymore. It does not mean we are mad with each other. We just don’t have time anymore like we used to.

It seems human bonding is becoming less relevant these days. The old things that a family used to enjoy doing together are now boring and obsolete. We lost our family value. We became robots.  New technology lures us to become one. Modern devices became the love of our lives. We get upset when somebody is disturbing us while we are playing a computer game, when we are watching and listening to a crucial dialogue of our favorite cable TV show and when we are so absorbed commenting on our favorite forum. We don’t want to be bothered when we are checking what our friends are up to on Facebook and other social networks we’ve joined. 

Every few months, a new electronic gadget comes out on the market, an upgrade to the previous ones, with some additional features that are far more exciting. This means more advanced tech and more time required enjoying it. We save our money religiously so we can acquire our latest fix as soon as possible because our friend or a neighbor has the newest iwhatever already. Most of us stop doing the things that we used to enjoy, like hanging out with friends or doing enjoyable activities with family, hoping to save money as fast as possible. Anticipating and researching on the net what to expect about the next new coolest gadget becomes a routine. Well, there are some positive aspects about it. We learned to save, to anticipate on better things, how to be patient and we learn to have fun without relying on our family and friends. 

Well, I’m rambling here… maybe I am exaggerating, but I can see that the future is heading towards this direction if we don’t moderate our wants on technology. I am not really against modern technology. In fact, I love my computer at home. I love the good things technology has to offer: the quick access to information, communicating with love ones who live far away is easier, finding old friends and making new friends are exciting, blogging is fun and most importantly, technology saves lives.  What I don’t like about it is our lack of self-control over these things. We lost our sense of balance of what’s important to us. Our being overly involved on the internet and our becoming materialistic are apparent. Most of all, we should not stop creating joyful memories with family and friends. We should not forget the old traditional way of family bonding.

What do you think? How does technology affect your lives? Is it a blessing or a curse?

Frustrated Writer

I am a wannabe writer. This is one of the reasons why I blog. I know, I still need to improve my writing skills in many ways. I am really working hard on it. In recent time, I asked someone I knew to proofread my blog, after he went through it he told me sarcastically - “why not blog in your own native tongue.” Ouch, it hurts.  I know his comment was not meant to insult but simply wants to save me from a big disappointment in the end. As we oftentimes read or heard that to become a great writer, you should start reading and writing at a tender age. A middle age person like me, who barely started to embark on a journey of writing, maybe is wasting time on a futile endeavor. I really hope not!

Margaret Mead once said, “Learning to write takes time and effort, but it can be done”.

This quotation has been my inspiration. It gives me new optimism to pursue my goal. I can be a very persistent person, when I really want to achieve something, I strive harder. That’s my good quality, I guess. To achieve my goal, I realized that I need to start reading… I mean really reading a lot! Though I encountered a lot of bickering in the blogosphere about this issue, I still believe that reading is a key to a good writing.

It helps you find your own voice and besides it helps increase your general knowledge. When I became a wife and mother, I put the fun of reading on the back burner. My family became my priority, now that my son is grown-up and my husband now retired. I have plenty of free time, so I am doing a lot of catching up in terms of reading and building up my vocabulary anew.

               

Read, read, read… Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! - William Faulkner

If you do not have time to read, you do not have time to write. - Stephen King

Blogging opens a new door for us who are frustrated writers. It is a learning ground, where we can practice and grow as hopeful writers. Our blogs can be an inspiration especially if we see signs of progress in our writing efforts. I was stunned when I wrote the first post of my blog. I realized that I did not know how to write anymore. I was struggling to come up with few sentences.

 However, with persistence, I was able to scribble two short paragraphs and that became an introduction to my blog, "Homebody Mom". I consider it as a small step towards success.  

So what are you waiting for wannabe writers? Start blogging now!

Enjoy the Gift of Music

Have you been feeling down lately? Listen to your favorite songs and your spirits will be uplifted in a second.  In moments of joy, music will inspires you even more. When you are at a crossroads and bewildered a mellow and inspirational song will give you a feeling of tranquility and comfort.  Music can also be a friend and a companion in times of solitude. Without a doubt, music feeds the soul.     

Over the years, a hectic life had taken over my existence. I had to put aside my passion for music. I became preoccupied being a wife and mom and struggling to build a career. However, I overlooked one of the positive aspects of having music in our busy lives, as a good stress reliever. I neglected to nourish my soul of what it desires, no wonder I always felt something was not there. My soul had left me.

I remember an occasion, when I was still in nursing school. One of  our classmates invited everyone to have lunch at her house, to celebrate the completion of our community exposure as student nurses. She prepared a great meal of assorted seafood with fresh fruits for dessert. After we devoured the scrumptious feast and our tummies had a breather, she turned on her videoke machine. Some of my classmates started singing to the Abba songs. The next tune was Dancing Queen, when it started to play, I was stunned everyone stood up, singing and dancing to the tune. Earlier on, everyone was complaining of tired and low energy. They seemed invigorated upon hearing music. I looked around, I was the only one left sitting on the couch.  “Should I join them?” was my thought. I quickly got up and pretended to be singing and dancing with them. I was dismayed to realize I cannot dance either.  My dance moves were awkward and had no rhythm at all. I felt weird and uncomfortable in that situation. I then excused myself to go outside to answer a phone call, but the truth was I just want to get away and hide my shame.

Nowadays, I am reacquainting myself to music again. I listen to my favorite tunes when I am happy, sad, tired or inspired. I am also learning how to sing better. Dancing to the lively tune comes naturally to me now. My son helped me compile all my favorite songs from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s in a playlist. Music has become a part of my life once again. As long as I live, I will no longer deny my self with one of God’s greatest gifts, the gift of music.

Don’t Ignore Burnout

  

Burnout becomes a way of life for many people nowadays. If you are working on a job that is highly stressful and demanding, or a job that does not fit with your interests  and skills, or are you  trying to reach some unrealistic goals. These are among the common scenarios of impending burnout. But you have no choice the economy is tight, unemployment is on the rise and your skills are limited. Jobs are scarce these days and you can’t afford to be picky. You have a family to support, need to pay bills and bring foods on the table three square meals a day. In other words, you work to live. You can’t just quit your job every time you hit a wall.  

Many of us are worried that the feeling of burnout will strike anytime soon and if it does,  you wonder if you will ever recover from it.  What will you do if you won’t? Burnout is inevitable,  the question is when. Focusing on prevention is a smart thing to do, by learning how to recognize it’s early signs so you can take steps before it becomes your worst nightmare. The earlier the stage of burnout you are in, the easier it will be to find a solution to the situation. Sometimes a simple stress management strategy is all what it takes to solve the problem.

Listen to your body and mind when it’s telling you “I am exhausted and I need a break”.  Most people are stubborn on this, they would say, “I can’t afford to take a break, I have so many bills to pay” so they ignore the warning signs and force themselves to work through it. The end result, your energy reserves has depleted and you feel  extremely exhausted not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well.  


After all, some people burnout because they work too long and too hard. The key is to balance life, there should be a time for work and time to relax and have fun. Reward yourself with an enjoyable and relaxing vacation occasionally. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, by eating healthy foods, exercising and sleeping adequately. Get a physical check up to make sure you have no hidden health problem that is causing you to be depressed or makes you extremely exhausted.

On the other side, burnout can sometimes be used as a motivation. Sometimes it’s a signal that there is an exciting new adventure just around the corner waiting for you. Listen to your inner voice and it will tell you what it is. Like for example, when I experienced burnout few years back, I had a long and hard soul searching and self analysis for months. I was desperate and depressed. Then one day an idea came about.  I went back to college and pursued a nursing degree. I was grateful that my husband and my son were always there as my support system. Though college life was not devoid of stress and pressures, the change of atmosphere and the feeling of hope and sense of accomplishment were all worth the journey. If not for my burnout, I would probably still doing the same job as a hotel maid until now. I would have been missing out on the great opportunity!