麻豆社

Back in the 80s I was working for a time in South Africa. I had a column in a Sunday newspaper and the only way I could get my 鈥榗opy鈥� to Dublin was to phone it, laboriously, to a copytaker in the office. Ten years later I was studying in Chicago and, miracle of miracles, I could send it home by fax. Today, both are laughable. I now email it from anywhere in the world directly to the newspaper page. The world is changing at an incredible pace.

Dr Tom Friedman published a book recently to help us cope with what he calls 鈥渢his age of acceleration.鈥� He reckons 2007 was a critical year when software 鈥渂egan to eat the world.鈥�

Moore鈥檚 law claims that the power of the microchip doubles every two years.

But it鈥檚 not all good. Climate change is causing havoc. For example, in the developing world, the advance of medical science means people will live longer; the population of some African countries will quadruple by 2050.聽 But climate change will rob them of food to live on.

That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 impossible for most of us to get a handle on life. There鈥檚 too much information to process. It takes us a decade to catch up with technological advances but what good is that when technology changes every few years? How depressing!

However, I don鈥檛 believe it has to be that way.

The most destructive condition of our time is not fame or greed or technology. It鈥檚 self-rejection. Self-rejection tells me 鈥淚鈥檓 nobody; I don鈥檛 deserve any better.鈥� Or worse still 鈥淚鈥檝e no right to be here.鈥�

That kind of loneliness suffocates our spirits.

I believe we must begin by learning to be at home in our own skin.

Before you find a soulmate, you must first discover your soul.聽

So hold the line. We have not lost control. We always have the power to insist the future comes one day at a time.

Decide to live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece.

鈥淭he Lord is my helper; I need not fear.鈥� (Hebrews 13:6)