The Double Edge Sword of Life

http://bit.ly/pnQlYp I was walking to work today and thinking about the fact that Steve Jobs passed away yesterday. I am sad about it, not only because it is the loss of another life, but also because of his potential. Sure, he had some personal issues in how he worked with people and the way he did some things, but no one can deny that he was an innovator. The products that he developed and sold have changed the world and they way in which we communicate in it. So as I walked, I decided it would be strangely poetic if i listened to my rarely used Ipod. As I plugged it in drawing in all the subtle thoughts of Apple in my life, it wouldn't come on. It was dead. The battery had gone out and i haven't charged it in a while. Ironic, maybe. Too soon? perhaps. But as I took the earbuds out, I started to think it may be better this way. I could listen to the sound of the birds, the hum of the traffic and all the sounds of Nashville coming to life. Then I started to think about how technology is truly a double edged sword in our society. We have it, we feel like we need it, and we do too much with it. We put too much out there publicly. We spend more time virtually chatting and emailing than we do speaking to one another. We can't put our phones down to save our lives. The internet is great and so much is at your finger tips, but the smut and trash that compose over half the available space in the clouds isn't worth a digital pile of dog crap. Do we need all this? Do we need the latest and greatest I-whatever to function in this world? Do we need to post every thought, feeling, breakfast item we consume for the world to see? This double edge sword is immense. Ironic to complain about this in a blog too. =) But then I thought about the metaphor. The Japanese have swords that only cut one way. Does their society have the same effect? What about their internet use? Apparently, they welcome technology open armed. They embrace it, but at the same time, juxtapose it with religious tenets that speak of simplicity, a soft still voice, nature and the real world. They eat better than us. They make some weird packaged food for sure, but many eat very fresh. More rice, seafood, vegetables and things that don't get plagued down with high fructose corn syrup and preservative like we do. So is balance the key? Is technology not wrong, but how we're using it? Perhaps it should free us up to do other things. We should not be slaves to it. I should take my own advice. I'm logging off now, but I won't delete my account. Not yet anyways.