Today, I want to talk about the 49-day memorial rite and the thoughts that have been on my mind recently regarding time and technology. While these topics may seem unrelated, this idea came to me while I was preparing gifts for the ceremony.
In Buddhism, the 49-day ceremony takes place 49 days after the passing of a loved one. It is believed that the spirit of a deceased person lingers for 49 days before departing to the afterlife, where they can rest in peace. I recently lost my father, which prompted me to reflect on funerals and rituals, but that's a story for another time.
As I arranged gifts for the attendees online, I realized that in the past, people would visit each attendee in person to express their gratitude and celebrate the conclusion of the funeral and ceremony. Despite the technological advancements we've made, it would be challenging to do the same thing nowadays. While we can purchase and arrange the best gifts with just one click, it doesn't mean that we have more free time as a result.
This realization made me ponder the relationship between time and technology and how they impact our lives. Although we have more convenient tools, we often don't have more free time. Instead, we end up using that time to complete more tasks.
During my father's passing, we received condolences, kind support, and funeral offerings from our relatives and friends. While I'm grateful for their generosity, I can't visit each attendee in person to thank them. Instead, I plan to send gifts and letters to express my gratitude.
Although technology has improved our lives in many ways, we need to consider whether we are truly benefiting from it. We can handle hundreds of emails a day, but that doesn't mean we have more free time to do what we love.
A new work style, working from home, which was once thought impossible is now becoming the norm. But unfortunately, the change was brought about by the pandemic. So let's hope the next work revolution such as a four-day work week will be brought by people's wisdom and not by something disastrous. I hope that we can continue to use technology in more beneficial ways to free up time for ourselves and spend it with those we love.
Great job on this post! I didn't see any mistakes!
I agree with your thoughts around the pandemic and working from home. Sadly, it seems like it often takes something going horribly wrong to bring about change. I think many times, as a society, it's so hard for change to occur because we think to ourselves, "Well, we've always done things this way." It makes it harder to see that there might be alternatives that could help improve people's lives.
@Kendra Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to read my post. I completely agree with your thoughts on change and how difficult it can be for society to embrace it. It's unfortunate that it often takes a crisis or disaster to bring about change, but I'm hopeful that we can learn from this pandemic and use technology in a more beneficial way going forward.
Again, thank you for your feedback and support. It means a lot to me.