Future World

Leaving San Francisco last week I got to think about just how real our "Brave New World" already is. I used to think of this future world as a place that existed in the minds of the science fiction writers. As I arrived at the airport in the hybrid taxi it occurred to me more than before just how "futuristic" our existence already is.

Our grandparents could not even have fathomed the idea that one could fly from city to city, or country to country, in one day, let alone that an airport would be like a "train station" ... today an airport is a transit hub just like every other.

The entire process at the airport is also so "Brave New World". After you have retrieved your boarding card ... having scanned your identity document into a machine, you stand in a long line to enter a "millimeter wave detector" ... (Seriously? What the hell is that anyway!?!) scanning us for our safety in the skies!

Human behavior itself has evolved so much in the last ten years. When we need to figure out how something works, we search for it on YouTube and somewhere in the world someone will have posted a video tutorial explaining how to use it. I had to use YouTube recently to figure out how to start a Prius (yes, this is true!) and I have also used it before to figure how to use one of those fancy coffee machines with the pods that they have all over Europe.

I do see that it could be possible, that I am simply not of this new "generation" but I do evolve and I do my best to take part in new things. I think it is most important to stay interested in all things (new and old) Thankfully traveling keeps my day to day interesting, and I get to see how trends change in other parts of the world.

In my future, I hope to slow down a little. I dream about less travel, about owning a dog and spending more time running in the hills. I want to travel for leisure and for pleasure and I also want to remember to value some of the "old" things of this world.

But for now, I will live for today and with every breath of my being enjoyed it as much as I can. In the words of Buddah: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

Independence

So this past week in America it was the oh so grand 4th of July celebrations. While many families were barbequing or watching parades or fireworks, I spent the day with friends eating cheese, drinking wine and listening to old vinyl records. I had forgotten how wonderful the sound of vinyl is. There is something so unique to the sound of records, a sound that itunes just cant replicate. There is also something so delightfully nostalgic about lifting the record needle, placing it on the record and then when the one side is done, lifting that needle again, placing it in the cradle and then flipping the album over for the B side and another 5 songs. We are so spoiled with the option of a continuous stream of music that I don't think we savor those 5 songs in the same way anymore. Ah, the good old days...

In the sprit of the independence holiday, I have been focusing on my own hard fought independence. I am inspired to make changes in my life like eating better and sleeping more. These positive changes will help me move towards more conscious living and better running!

I am starting to get my running legs back but I cannot believe how much harder it feels. My brain thinks I can still go the distance but my lungs and legs are not entirely up to speed. It’s humbling for sure, but I am aware that it’s all about consistency and perseverance, I just need to keep getting out there – in a few months, it will feel a lot smoother. I know it.

It is just over a year until I head to Iceland for the biggest adventure yet, I will be taking part in a multi-day race in Iceland. I have a lot of training miles ahead of me and I will be sure to document some of it as I go along. First though I need to remember to focus on the smaller stuff, the consistent 6 milers, the long runs on the weekends and simply keeping one foot in front of the other.

“A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”

The Power of the Mind

Recently I was have one of those “rough” days and I got to thinking how I’ve soldiered on through so many things in my life. There is a certain “endurance” to toughing things out and it occurred to me that maybe this is why I like long distance running.

I was in a conversation with a friend last weekend where I was commenting on a certain race course, I said that I wasn’t sure if I would want to run it because it was a repetitive loop and that would be boring ... my friend instantly disagreed with me and suggested rather that this was a course that was fun to run because it would train my mind to follow through. To solve a problem.

So is running a metaphor for life?

Some mornings even though according to my training plan I am scheduled to go for a run, I hesitate because I don’t “feel” like it ... but I know that if I lace up and go out I will feel great. In long distance running, when we are faced with a challenge we have to find a solution - so much of running, from lacing up to breaking through the "wall" is actually figuring out how to solve a problem. The problem of not being in the mood or breaking through that "wall" to get to the finish line.

So when I have a tough day and I don’t feel like having to to soldier on, when I am tired and I don’t want to have to solve the problem ... I know I need to adjust my attitude and carry on. Human beings although sometimes prone to feeling lazy, are not wired to give up. We are designed to improve, to grow. If we stand still for too long then we stagnate ... in life, as in running, if we don’t keep our bodies moving we pay the price.

Living in the developed world it is so easy to complain, to get tired of our “rough” days, but I like to remind myself that even though I have those days where I get tired, when I simply don’t want to move forward, I have little to complain about. I really am lucky, lucky, lucky! My problems are silver plated and it is my duty keep evolving, to keep moving, to keep soldiering on.

The future is in my hands ... the mind is very powerful, it really is all about attitude and maybe some problem solving.

"I am the master of my fate: the captain of my soul" - (from Invictus by William Ernest Henley)

Did Facebook kill my Blog?

I had often wondered what it was that caused me to stop writing. I love to write, but for reasons not entirely clear to me, I stopped. The last post on skyrocketpops is dated November 12, 2010 ... so what happened? Recently I was thinking how much our daily social media habits have influenced how our interactions with people have changed. A pre-timeline facebook asked us what we were doing, how we felt and we responded:

"Sabine is: having a good day" ... enough said!

Or was it?

Often so many other thoughts were swirling around my head, but facebook is soooo public, I did not feel comfortable putting much out there. Besides, how did I know who was reading my "updates" ... As someone that describes herself as a “happy” person, I would never write "Sabine is: a having a bad day" (even if I was) for fear of someone reading that and thinking that I really AM having a bad day ... and then who cares anyway? I have heard that so often from people when commenting about facebook, no one cares to read that you are eating your dinner, or running your bath or taking the kids to playschool ... but yet, we post this information for the world to see.

So much of our communication has been condensed into these micro-conversations, we text, we tweet, we update status. I wonder if that is that making us better (more efficient) communicators or are we just becoming more superficial in the way we interact with people and communicate at large? Is social media destroying our real-world relationships or enhancing them?

I personally like to use facebook when I travel, the short messages keep me feeling connected to my friends and family around the world, but I'd really appreciate a personal email or a phone call sometime too. Just reading what everyone else is doing, keeps me informed but it's a shallow connection.

We are overwhelmed by information, constantly distracted by messages ... whether it be advertising or our inboxes, there is that daily struggle to process all that comes our way ... no wonder the output dies ... why would anyone what to fill the world with even more words! Well, that was until last week... I decided that its high time I started to add my words to the mass of words that live "out there" and this is why I have this new blog. I will most likely still simply "think out loud" and I don't know how it will evolve, but I have a lot to say and I hope you enjoy my journey as much as I'm going to enjoy mine.

Welcome and enjoy the ride!