Technology & Spiritual Beings - How Do They Coincide?
- Haylee Mitchell
- Apr 11, 2018
- 5 min read
Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. In simpler terms, technology makes our lives easier. Throughout history, countless tools and gadgets have been engineered with the sole intent to save us time and energy. Technology has advanced so much that we now have the opportunity to spend our free time doing just about anything we please.
Technological advancements have created so many possibilities for us that we’d otherwise never have. Transportation technology has given us the capability to travel with ease - to see the world and the many cultures it has to offer, to diversify ourselves. Technology has given us more time to spend with our loved ones - to plan vacations, birthday parties, wedding receptions or a night out on the town. It gives us better tools and materials so that we can build our dream home or express ourselves through art. Technology has given us access to the internet where we can explore literally anything we can imagine. Technology gave us smartphones (which is what you’re probably using to read this right now). Thanks to technology, we have the world at our fingertips!
Technology has changed everything for us. It keeps us in constant connection with the world. All we have to do is watch the news or do a simple Google search to stay informed on all things Earth. We have immediate access to endless information and instant communication. It almost makes us feel bigger, right? All of this knowledge and technology .. it gives us power.
But with great power comes even greater responsibility.
In my opinion, this degree of technology and knowledge makes me feel smaller. Meaningless, almost.
For example, science and technology have taught us that the world is indeed not flat, it’s actually just a massive sphere floating in space. With that, what is space? Am I the only one terrified by that?
Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for advancements in technology and all of the opportunities that come with it, but there’s always a good side and a bad side, right? Maybe that’s just my overthinking at work, but I think all of this technology and knowledge we have is a blessing and a curse.
So let’s backtrack for a moment:
Out of curiosity I looked up the definition of 'survive,' the first result said “continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.”
However, when I searched the definition of 'live,' it simply said “remain alive.”
Technology has brought us to a new era.
We don’t 'survive' anymore, we 'live'.
Think about it. There was a time when mankind’s priority was simply to survive. This included building a shelter for yourself, hunting and gathering your own food and water, and clothing yourself to keep safe from the elements. Three very simple things you needed to do in order to survive, but these things were extremely time consuming. There was barely time to do anything else. So I can’t help but wonder, is it possible that people were (overall) happier during this pre-technological era? Was there simply no time to ponder apprehensive thoughts? Is it possible that the constant fight to remain living created a higher appreciation for life? Was depression even a concern? Or .. exist?
The reason I entertain this thought is because I’ve come to realize that none of my emotional/mental stress has ever derived from the hardship of survival. Thankfully, I was raised happily and healthily and never really had to worry about surviving. Surviving was the easy part! What I found a bit more complicated, was living.
Back to the definition: "remain alive"
I’ve remained alive for 24 years so far. Not too shabby, but what does alive mean? The first definition that popped up said, “living, not dead” well no kidding .. but the second definition said “alert and active; animated.” This is where it gets tricky for me. Though I’ve remained alive all this time, have I always been, “alert, active, or animated” as well? Defintiely not. We live in a time full of hopelessness and depression, so it may be more common than you think for people to feel quite the opposite of alive.
Technology has answered so many questions for us, but it has also sparked some new ones. Technology has showed us how small we really are. We don’t just simply live in North America, or on Earth, we live on a single planet in a galaxy full of them! Technology has provided me with all of this knowledge. It has also given me all of this time to sit around and ponder the meaning of life. And quite frankly, I worry too much. I spend so much time freaking myself out and worrying about what’s gonna happen to my soul when my body dies, to the point where I don’t even feel alive sometimes. This fear just totally shuts me down and disconnects me from my emotions and spirituality. Sometimes I imagine death will be a sweet relief from this fearful world, but most times I realize my biggest fear is losing everyone I’ve come to love and cherish. Will I “see” them again after I die?
How ironic that the one thing meant to make life easier is actually making it much more complex?
I can either accept this fear and continue to live in it or I can take control of my mind and train myself to enjoy life. People tell me all the time: “you can worry over every little thing and torture yourself with these unanswered questions or you can choose to be happy.” Usually I would respond to this by rolling my eyes and saying “easy for you to say.” And I would continue to sulk in my own self pity, but why? Was I waiting for someone to come pick me up off the ground and tell me I’m fine? Maybe I was. And guess what, even when people do tell you that you’re fine, you’re still not. I’ve learned that the only person capable of fixing me - is me! I can dwell on the negative and worry over how many days I have left, or I can love life and live life to the fullest. And I don’t mean in a cliche - go sky diving - kind of way.
You can spend your life chasing happiness, but happiness is not an end goal. Happiness is not achieved. Happiness is created from within yourself. We must live this life to the fullest by opening our minds and hearts so that we may evolve into the beautiful, compassionate beings I know we can be.
Being human is hard; we are such complex creatures, especially in this day and age. We care about more than just survival. We care about living. So how do we live successfully? Fortunately for us, success is in the eye of the beholder. We are all so very different. You must grow, learn, experience, and decide for yourself how you’d like to be successful. You may strive for success in love, your career, wealth, your family, your hobbies and skills, etc; it’s completely your choice. If you ask me, living successfully involves much more than discovering/fulfilling your dreams and passions. Living is also about us - our interactions as people, the lessons we learn and the discoveries we make, whether they are technological discoveries, emotional, mental or spiritual discoveries.
This is our world, so let’s continue on our voyage of discovery. Let us not be intimidated by our findings, but awakened and renewed. We shall use the technology available to us to not only seek answers in nature, but to detect spiritual reactions within ourselves. We have so much more to learn, so much more to do. So let’s incorporate technology into our world, but without losing sight of love and humanity.
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