“Not in his speech, not in his thoughts, I see his goodness, only in his actions, in his life.”
Herman Hesse
Creatures of Ink and Technology
17 Jun 2015 1 Comment
in Perspectives Tags: computer, ink, internet, words
Dear Fellow Journalers,
The following is a perspective piece from Paul. Please let us know what you think.
I recently watched a television program about Hackers on our local PBS channel and while being a tad scared about the prospect of my blogs/emails being hacked, I was still intrigued about the entire concept of coding. You see my first experience with the computer was when I was working in a bank. My supervisor informed me that my entire department’s records were going onto a computer disk ( we were using typewriters and files then). I supervised the transfer while being taught code and have respected the science ever since.
’til next time,
Sallie
Creatures of Ink and Technology
Our thoughts these days are of ink and technology. Printed words and emails, text messages and pictures, and music and movies downloaded from iPods and computers fill our minds perpetually, to an extent that we do not realize until we stop and reflect on it. As far as print, these black enthralling words are counters and symbols, which pass from lip to lip, from brain to brain, until they are worn and rubbed thin and shiny and lose their real significance, if they ever had any. Technology has led to many major changes professionally and personally, and for better or for worse. Computers are used in homes, businesses, cars, schools, and in our hands while we walk, exercise, drive, or travel. communicating, socializing, researching, working, and shopping have been made easier for consumers via the internet and with the click of a mouse or the tough of a screen.
Our theories of life come to us through ink. We are affected by the work of editors, reporters, compositors, website designers, and technicians. A few centuries ago, even after the invention of printing, the domain of books was limited. Only a few could read at all (for example, the monks translated and copied the Bible), and those few read but seldom. The majority depended on others to read to them, or a town crier to spread local news, or an oral tradition, where stories were told and handed down from one generation to another.
Ink did not saturate these ancient people’s brains. Now newspapers, magazines, brochures, and advertisements like billboards along highways, and laptops and cell phones govern us, big and little, local and regional, national and international, wise and unwise, rich and poor. They flourish us all with our religion, our politics, our current events, and our sociology. They set our fashions, frame our manners, and dictate our amusements and other interests.
Technology has taken the printed word to an advanced level, which makes it convenient for one person to communicate with another near or far and at any time of the day, seven days a week. It has become a necessity for those in the working world, those attending school, those looking for a mate, and those looking for fun and leisure as they search the Internet. Tons of information once stored in books, files and archives is now available at the click of a button online.
What was the world like before written words and computers were known, when men and women thought in terms of pictures, or of sounds, and did not smother facts in words, or spend countless hours searching the web with eyes staring at a screen? Yet, there were great deeds then, even, if all tales be true, some great speech uttered, which reverberates in all our hearts today. And along after writing and printing were invented, men relied upon them very little.
Spoken words made the communication of life, words spoken from the pulpit, from the stage, round the hearth, on the front porch with neighbors, at the corner of the street, by the water cooler at work, or in public places. Emails, text messages, websites, DVD players, video games as well as Xbox and PlayStation, and cell phones have taken the written word into a different dimension. These new forms of communication have not only brought people closer, but have left many vulnerable to computer viruses, hackers, identity theft, predators with devious and dangerous intentions, accidents and disasters, and addiction to mindless games and idle chatter. Now ink and technology have usurped it all; the world is drowned in a torrent of a dependency on impersonal ink and computers, and the invasion of privacy.
Some day there may come a rebellion, but it is difficult to see how. Instead, it seems for the present that the tyranny of print and technology over us has grown daily greater, more crushing and less responsible, less intelligently guided, while simultaneously remaining a dire necessity. Meantime, let us individually oppose the dominion of ink and technology wherever and whenever we can. When we do need to use them, we must remember to use them productively and wisely. Also, let us think for ourselves, to live for ourselves, and not be altogether creatures of ink and technology.
Let us keep our eyes open, our hearts open always, the fingers of our souls stretched wide to help others, teach the younger generations, smell the roses, commune with nature, feel the warmth of sunshine, appreciate our blessings including family and friends, smile and laugh more often than frowning and crying, and be determined to move forward in a positive and collaborative fashion. But most of all, let us not let the black veil of printed matter or a large or small screen cut us off from the reality of life and the wonderful people and special gifts that fill our lives.
Paul
Share this:
Why we remember
14 Jun 2015 Comments Off on Why we remember
Dear Fellow Journalers,
We, in America celebrate Flag Day today. The following is why:
Flag Day
~Sallie
Share this:
Do you take people for granted?
12 Jun 2015 Comments Off on Do you take people for granted?
The person you took for granted today, may turn out to be the person you need tomorrow. Be careful how you treat people.
Share this:
10 Things
10 Jun 2015 Comments Off on 10 Things
in Paper Daydreams Tags: People doing things they love
Dear Fellow Journalers,
The following post comes from 10 things and I found it very inspirational.
Surprise, surprise… happy people live their lives differently. They don’t have different lives. They just do a better job at living them than those who are unhappy.
Happiness is the result of subjective interpretation of perception. Of course, what we perceive isn’t always done so by choice — life does throw things our way.
However, most of the time, we find ourselves in the situations we are in because of actions we took and decisions we made. It’s the way that you live your life that largely decides whether or not you will live happily.
They don’t bother trying to make others like them — mainly because they don’t care if they’re liked.
They like themselves and they are the only people they ever answer to. You could like them. You could hate them. You could pay them no mind whatsoever — doesn’t make a difference to them.
They do what they do because they decided to do it. They aren’t trying to gain your approval or acceptance. They don’t want to be part of your team — they’re a team of their own. They live their lives the way they see fit and if you like them for it, great. If not… then so be it.
They do things because they want to do them, not because they believe they have to do them.
They don’t believe they have to do anything. Other than pay taxes and die of course — everything else is a decision followed by deliberate action. If they are doing something, going somewhere, participating in something, it’s because that is exactly what it is that they want to be doing.
No one coerced them or tricked them into doing it because they value their opinion above everyone else’s. They do what they believe is right and don’t bother to ask for permission — they just do it.
They love their friends but don’t rely on them.
Friends are tricky because they aren’t really yours, are they? You don’t own them. They are their own people who have their own wants and needs — people who will always put themselves ahead of you and your goals. Friends are great to have, but relying on them too heavily will leave you disappointed.
Those who live happy lives have very close friends, but they keep their independence in order to avoid those moments. It’s the lack of independence and over-reliance that often comes to ruin friendships — all relationships for that matter.
When you ask them what they do, they don’t give you a job title.
They tell you about the things they are doing with their lives — the places they have visited and are planning on visiting. The projects they are starting or part of. The problems they are working towards solving and the communities they are working with to get those problems solved.
When you ask them what they do, they respond with what they do in their lives, not what work they do in order to pay for the lives they want to one day be living. The real trick is that these individuals know better than to wait to live the lives they want to live. You live life whether you accept or ignore the fact, how you live it in the moment determines how happy you are.
When you ask them where they live, they say, “At the moment…”
Happy people tend to move around a bit. Maybe it’s because traveling does the soul good. Maybe it’s because the stagnancy of staying in one place their whole lives bores them.
Maybe it’s because they love meeting new people and having new experiences. Maybe it’s because they haven’t found the right place to settle down just yet. You see, these individuals see the world as their home — no single country or city. If you ask them where they live, then they’d answer “earth” if they wouldn’t come off sounding highfalutin.
They have their own philosophies, their own religion they created and live by.
You don’t need a book to tell you how you ought to live your life. You can live your life by whatever philosophy you wish — as long as you found truths that satisfy you. They have a strong grasp of right and wrong and are their own judges.
They embrace their impermanence.
They know they’re only mortal — having this knowledge and accepting it fuels their every step. You will too. Why? Because it is inevitable. There is no way of avoiding it, only dealing with the fact.
The happiest of people don’t fear death. They don’t do their best to avoid it. They see it as the inevitability that it is in and live their lives by their terms. They may not be able to control death, but they know they sure as hell can control their own personal lives.
They see the world as their playhouse and their mind as the conductor.
They don’t believe there is a single way that the world is — a single reality that exists. Instead, they believe themselves to be the originators of their reality.
They believe they have full control over how they interpret what they perceive. They see the world the way they choose to see it because they understand the power such a skill has. We all live in a reality of our own construction. Some of us just construct our realities better than others.
They live in the moment, but dream in the future.
Happy people have hopes, dreams and goals. They have wants and aspirations, but they don’t allow themselves to get caught up and lost in them. There isn’t so much a time and place for dreaming as there is a maximum allotted amount recommended.
You can’t live life doing nothing more than looking towards the future because you’ll miss the only time that things actually matter or exist: the present. The present, the immediate moment is the only moment that you can actually live in. The rest is only an illusion.
They don’t bother changing others, but instead learn how to deal with them appropriately.
Devoting your energy to changing other people is a waste of it. People do change, but they only do so on their own accord. They have to decide to change themselves and that only happens in time — you can’t push and force because it doesn’t work.
On the contrary, it often does the opposite of what is intended. Instead of wasting time and energy trying to do the impossible, why not do the next best thing? Learn to deal with people as they are in order to get the result you desire. If you can’t change them, then guide them to do as you wish. Otherwise, let them go.
~Sallie
Share this:
chillychasers
uniquelyyourscraftjournal
Uniquely Yours Craft Journal 
Recent comments