What has changed?

For the past few days, I have been reflecting on some of the things that has changed in my life in the past 3 decades or so (for borderline baby boomers like me) : Take a look, are we progressing, digressing or are we going in circles?

Lifestyles 
School days :  
     THEN : some walk or cycle to school, others used the school bus. Roads had fewer vehicles, lesser CO emission. Crime is extremely low or unheard of. We had walking friends, cycling buddies & school bus chums....We spent most of our time in the open air playing....so carefree & happy.
     NOW : a lot of parents fetch their kids to & from school. Then, most drive used cars, nowadays so many new/branded cars!! Friends? Yes, if only there is extra time left over from tuition, piano classes, swimming lessons, etc....sigh. They also learn stress at a very young age, stress over getting As for exam! The parents has raised the bars. Why? Let kids be kids! Please....
     SO...We have progressed indeed...more affluent, more protective over our loved ones thanks to higher crime rates compared to yesteryears and yes, we are also progressively contributing carbon monoxide to our ever friendly earth...so sad that our future leaders are "robbed" off their childhood, at the same time robbing mother nature apparently in the name of "progress".
Residential homes : 
     THEN : we used to lived in huge homes as we had big families. We also have vast land for kids to play.  Most kids only go home when it is dark.
     NOW : Due to high cost of living and change in lifestyles, our homes are getting smaller & people are getting to be loners...staying at SOHOs and studio apartments. People back then get married before 30, now, many choose not to be hitched. And kids still play, they play in front of their computers at the comfort of home!
     SO...with progress we digress in our lifestyle? :(
Telephone :
     THEN:we talked on the phone to stay in touch & communicate on urgent matters. We keep the calls short because it was expensive particularly to call interstate and overseas. We write to stay in touch. Ring tones were standard. All phones in the 70's & 80's were black!
     NOW : call/text/chat/WIFI/video/camera = ALL in 1! Calls are cheap or FREE! People text/chat 24/7!!! But they don't talk!!! You get my drift. I see family or group of friends dinning together yet, everyone's head is down...busy texting or playing games on their phones! Talk people, talk!!! Songs are ringtones. Phones in different shapes and sizes!
     SO : I choose TALKING and interacting anytime! When I'm tired of talking or lack of interaction or alone, only then I play with my phone. Progress? Yes. Digress? Astounding YES! We are speaking lesser and lesser but we certainly text/chat more. A price we pay for moving forward. The faster we progress, the more we pay in return for a compromised lifestyle.
Postal services :
     THEN : our post offices sells first day covers/envelopes, stamps, collect and post our mails. Our mailman cycles to our homes and are our friends. I know my postman as I had to wait for my pen-pals and boyfriends letters...ahem! They take time to smile & introduce new stamps or first day covers and take time to chat or even wish a 'good morning".
     NOW: my 'mailman' comes on a bike, drops the mails and scurries off. The post office's focuses more on miscellaneous stuff like collecting payments for other establishment then their core business. We are just the next number they have to serve!
     SO: the postal service has evolved and improved over time. They need to & have adepted well by introducing new services to stay afloat to compete with technology & current pace. Kudos!! With ICT & 'going green', lesser mails/cards are sent, therefore they need to change or they may face 'extinction' soon.

Sports
Rules> Rules of many games have changed to suit present needs and wants. No right or wrong.
Spirit of sportsmanship> The spirit of sportsmanship is now more of moneymanship!!! The amount of money to "buy" a player is OUTRAGEOUS!!! Personally, I feel this is not sports but money making, period. Steroids & strenuous workout sessions are used to boost/enhance better time, better performance. But at a hefty price and a heavy toll on the body & mind. Progress? Yes, we are getting better results but do  we really need to? At what price? You tell me.
Objective> Gone are the days we 'fight' for our nation. Its now $ $ $ $. Look at the amount of sponsorships available to elite players. The huge sums clubs/country pay to get top players to play for them. Most games have price tags for winning. Those days we play for the nation, pride and spirits of sportsmanship....now....sigh....:( :( :(

Food 
Healthy= we have gone from eating healthy organic food to hyper growth and now back to organic. Full circle? Yes. In the first place, we should have stayed at organic! Now, we are paying high price to eat organic food! So odd isn't it?
Traditional to Fusion = we have grown from traditional home-made recipes>to fast food>to gourmet>to fine dinning and now fusion food. To explore food is certainly good as people become affluent, they desire better food. Progress? Yes. Digress? Yes. In the process we also 'kill' the eco system to satisfy our needs. Example : Shark fin soup! Stop eating them now! WHY? Imagine you are a shark, can u swim without your fins?? Go figure!
Local vs global = those days when you yearn for Penang Char Kueh Teow, you GO to Penang to eat them. Now, every 1 out of 10 hawker stalls, you can get Penang CKT of course, remember not to question the authenticity of it. But where is the fun of traveling there to savour the food? I can eat pasta or pizza every week and I don't have to go to Italy to have it, we have Italians cooking for us here! I relish the fact that I can get almost all types of food locally but it beats the fun & authenticity of having it at the country of origin. Even my nearest convenience store sells Penang Tau Sar Pheah!! Can you beat that? Foodwise, borderless is good :)   that's why so fat lor....
Mode of 'take away" =  back in early 70's, we used to bring our own bowls! The peddling hawkers come to our door steps. And if we lived upstairs, simple : we used a rope & basket to hoist the food from the mobile hawkers, same mode for payment > downwards! Ingenious and so practical. Then, we moved on to tiffin carriers and then waxed paper with banana leaves. Subsequently to plastic bags and more recently Styrofoam boxes. Let's not destroy our earth any further. Best alternative is to eat in or if you must take away use tiffin carriers. Obviously, we can't possible use our own bowls now ....think of the distance and spillage in YOUR car!!! Ewww....the stain and the smell. 

In conclusion, if we all start doing a bit here and there, we can all make small changes to improve our lifestyle and in the process save mother earth so that our future leaders (our kids, grandkids & great grandkids) can appreciate what we have saved for them! With technology, we should improve our lives not destroy it by drowning ourselves in technology and "isolation". We need to talk more, walk more, play more, smell the roses more and interact more or soon the earth would be filled with walking "zombies". Sad & stressed zombies for everyone is so engrossed in keeping up with modernization and technology that we forget where we came from and how to live a fruitful life.

For better or for worse, you be the judge. Playing the devil's advocate....If all things remains status quo, we have not progress but if we have to pay hefty price to progress, then why progress? or digress in life just to progress? I had a good & memorable childhood and I wish that the present & future generation can live like how we used to live in the 70s & 80s before all these 'improvements' started to 'eat' up our lives.

The changes starts in you, in me, in each and everyone of us. Let's change for the better. Let's take small steps now....in a year or so, you will be glad you made the change. I did! I spent 4 hours today catching up with a former schoolmate. We lost touched for 33 years, I caught up with her life in just 4hours! ....so come join me in my pursuit to encourage a change in our present lifestyle...talk more, interact more, see more, touch more, and learn more, not forgetting destroying less (use lesser tissue paper or replace with handkerchief, use tiffin not styrofoam, use lesser paper so print less....etc)

For a start, why don't you share what has changed and your recourse to turn things around for the better? Drop me your comment, I would love to hear from you.