Wow, it’s the morning after a good ole nor’easter in Nova Scotia. What a monster of a storm it was. The snow resembles a soft white blanket covering cars and everything in its path. At first glance, it’s a daunting awareness of being completely snowed in and at the mercy of a massive snow plow.
Sauntering over to the table with a freshly brewed coffee in hand, it’s hard to shift my gaze from the picture window revealing a beautiful scenic winter wonderland. While sitting down and comfortably settling in for a workday at home, I begin reflecting on the past 24 hours. How can a destructive nor’easter, with howling gusty winds, magically transform into this calm and peaceful landscape of bright white snow glistening in the cold winter sun?
Glancing toward the open laptop at eye view, my thoughts drift to the irresistible aroma of rich, freshly brewed coffee invoking comfort and awakening the senses. Savouring the first sip creates a feeling of warmth and instantly kick-starts the day. While sipping coffee and peering through the window at the thick blanket of snow resting heavily on tree branches, it mirrors a framed scenic oil painting, and gives rise to an all-consuming distraction.
It takes me back to another time when snow was pure fun—a time solely focused on toboggans, snow angels, snowball fights, and building a snowman with a carrot nose. It was a time without worries, just innocent play and fun with the clean crisp winter air biting your nose. I can almost hear the screams of joy and laughter of friends in the distance, and feel the hard bumps and bounces of the toboggan as we whiz down the hill with the cold air nipping our cheeks and painting them bright red. With little clumps of snow sticking to our mittens like ice, the hours of fun and play outdoors were only interrupted by the familiar, kind voice of a mother to a child calling us for lunch. After getting fuelled up and warmed up, it was back to the snowy fun. The boys always progressed to rougher play. When the roughhousing went too far, they were separated. This was simply boys being boys.
What happened to those carefree days? They were sadly left behind as the years flew by. The natural progression of time, as well as growing into new chapters in our lives, brings new responsibilities and survival in everyday life. This is a constant in the lives of most people.
Another constant is the technological advances developing before our very eyes and moving at lightning speed. The hours of outdoor play in my youth were never hindered by cell phones, internet, cable TV, streaming, and computer gaming. We were free from 24/7 propaganda pumping out through the media, advertisements, programming, and social media influencers. It simply did not exist in days gone by. In today’s world, it’s almost impossible to avoid.
It’s exciting to be immersed in new technology continually rolling out. On one hand, it’s absolutely wonderful having the ability to bank online, pay bills, order any product from around the world, find an answer to any question in the palm of your hand, talk face to face with anyone worldwide, and so much more, from the convenience of our homes. If you are not on board this fast moving train, you will be lost and left flailing in the wind. As much as we enjoy the credible and ethical side of this technology, there is an equal displeasure for the depths of the dark underworld lurking on the internet.
Every second of every day, children and adults around the world are bombarded with propaganda. It never stops unless the devices are turned off. Today’s world is all about ‘in your face’ social engineering manufactured through the very same technology that is making our lives easier in many respects. Advances in AI are incredible and cleverly deceptive, making it impossible to determine what’s real and what’s fake. We are now a society of slaves to the constant technological advances in the world. It’s almost impossible to do anything in our lives without the use of an electronic/computerized device.
I can’t help but think, OMG, how did all of this happen! This was a space-age dream in my youth, similar to Star Trek. It was so far into the future that we never imagined, in our wildest dreams, it would happen during our time on this earth.
What’s not constant is how the innocent, simple life of the past diminished with time, and all but vanished. I long for the luxury of anonymity and valuable freedoms we had in our lives from yesteryear and times gone by. Sometimes it feels like eons ago, and other times it’s closer to your heart and soul. One thing is for certain—this slice of history ended and disappeared like the dinosaurs.
The children of today are growing up in a different world—a world my generation only dreamed of with a keen imagination.
What big changes and advances are coming in the not-so-distant future, either for better or worse?
Suddenly, bangs and thumps from a snow plow in the distance jolt me back to the task at hand. Drinking the last drops of coffee, I realize it’s time to stop gazing through the window reminiscing about the past and reflect on the present day. The time has come to start working with this awesome technology sitting in front of me—a laptop, with the world at my fingertips.
