The Present is Awesome

By Tommy Leung on 08/14/2010 in Life

It is hard not to take what we have today for granted. I’m not talking about friends, family, or other loved ones. Yes, we will inevitably do that too. It happens.

I’m talking about modern technology. The technology that lets us stay in touch with our friends and family–to let us maintain stronger bonds. The ones that make our lives easier and better.

The Luddites preach about technology being as evil as the devil.

No one should listen to what they say. Technology isn’t turning us into brain dead zombies. The internet, cellphones, and iPod’s are not making us less social or inept at living. We just do it differently. We do it better.

Out with the old rules. They are outdated. In with the new rules. They are always changing.

Living in the Present

I might be slightly more on the technological edge than the general population.

I don’t believe in cable TV. I believe in Hulu. I don’t believe in movie rental stores. I believe in Netflix. I have a Roomba–it’s not perfect but, why should I roll a vacuum around?

I look up information anywhere there is a cellphone signal. I don’t go to the library to find information. I use Google.

My cats have an automatic feeder. It serves a set amount of food at the same time every day. I don’t feed my cats. The robot does.

I’ve stopped going to supermarkets to buy food. I have someone pick and deliver them to me. I use FreshDirect.

I don’t buy CD’s. When someone recommends me an artist or a song, I find it on Rhapsody and listen to it immediately.

When I know nothing about a new product I want to buy, I go to Amazon. They have reviews and let me know about similar products. I have the wisdom of thousands of people at my finger tips.

And there is a lot more that I’ve taken for granted. All these things I can only do because I live in the present. Not 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, or 100 years ago. Right now. Only now.

The Present in Action

I went to buy cat food for my cats. I want to change their diet to more real food. Not the Purina or the Iams. Look at their ingredients, that is not what cats should be eating. And only because I have all this technology and information at my finger tips can I know this and know that there are alternatives. I don’t have to feed my cats only what my supermarket carries.

I found a small pet store that carried holistic pet food. I found them from Blue Buffalo’s store search. I did some research online to find a brand of cat food without the by-products and actually has real chicken, salmon, etc. I went in looking for Blue Buffalo cat food.

They didn’t carry it.

They did carry other brands. I didn’t look up other brands in advance. I let the person at the store share her knowledge with me. I didn’t know anything. She recommended me a product.

I wasn’t sure about any of it so I asked to read the labels. She left me to investigate the different choices on my own. I went to read the labels armed with my limited knowledge of what is actual meat and what is not from my brief research.

It was hard to distinguish minor details with my limited knowledge. I’m no expert. I narrowed it down to two brands that looked best. I then took out my iPhone and Googled each. Right there on the spot.

Only because I live in the present can I do this. I can go from knowing nothing about the products I’m looking at to knowing enough to make a much more informed decision. And it only 10 minutes–could have gone faster if only AT&T had faster 3G!

This doesn’t seem so special on the surface until you consider what would have happened if this technology and content did not exist. I could have done a few things like not bought anything and waited until I got more information–somehow. Or I may have just bought the same old product because the devil you know is still better than the devil you don’t. Or I could have made a product decision by picking and praying.

None of those choices are ideal. I want to change my cat’s diet to better food and they need more food now. And I want to buy the best product. We don’t settle in the present. We don’t need to.

We make the ideal choice because it’s available: immediately learn about the products and determine the best product to buy.

Time saved. Money saved. And peace of mind.

The present is awesome.