Guiding Light: Celebrating Our Human-ness

Modern life has become synonymous with a sense of FOMO, we are flooded with constant streams of what seems like overachievement, whether its social media or mainstream portals. And that has left us feeling like we’re perennially late, always rushing to play catch up. Leave alone pausing and smelling the flowers, this modus operandi scarcely gives us any opportunity even to take a moment and celebrate our successes.

We might think that we are absolutely amazing at multitasking, but the fact of the matter is that for us to do something well, we ought to be focused on just 1-2 things, rather than constantly worrying about all the amazing other things we could be doing. Mere physical presence with a scattered mind can seldom lead to success,

Add to that the short form modes of entertainment that shorts or reels expose us to, and it means that our attention spans are reducing, and the need for frequent dopamine hits is increasing. This impacts our ability to go beyond surface level and carry out any deep work, with more and more people being quite happy with applying a glossy veneer and passing off another’s work as our own. ChatGPT can make this problem worse, through stealing the originality, creativity and state of mind that are required for putting together something that’s genuinely new and different from what’s been done in the past.

The complex mix of technology and services that are becoming available more and more conveniently at affordable prices has brought us to a crossroads, where we will be forced to examine a very existential question — what is being human all about? The answer isn’t to turn our backs to technology, but to be able to find a balance where we can still preserve the higher order work, which adds value and enriches our lives for our fellow human beings, whilst using technology as a tool to enable more efficient work, very much like a bicycle for the mind.

Mindfulness and Yoga practices are important to help us ground ourselves in our realities, and stay connected with our human-ness. It’s only a peaceful and stable mind that can cultivate the calmness which can appreciate simple things like natural beauty, a great song, or delicious food. If our mind is constantly running after what could have been, then we will never be able to savour the true happiness that only the present moment can bring!

Published on: Saturday, November 09, 2024, 06:00 AM IST