Internet and Buddhism

I'm not sure what to make of the Internet anymore. It's just growing and growing. It goes into the unknown, and known.

Recently I have just been re-introduced to friends from high school. It's so strange. You hear nothing from these people for years, and years. Then all of a sudden they're right there, almost just around the corner. It's a good, yet scaring thing.

In these times, when you barely know your neighbors, people are reaching out more and more to their past, their forgotten, their memories. The Internet is made up of 4 things . The past (search for people, reconnecting, people finder), the future (ordering goods on-line, match making services, etc..), fantasy (people pretending, chatting, etc..), and the present (news stuff, and maybe even blogs). I don't think it's a bad thing to experience these things, but I do believe the Internet has created a new culture (one that I'm a part of). While it does open up a world of information, it also takes information. In a sense, whatever you put out there, you really are going to get back. The Internet is karmic.

With that being said, it's important to remain in the present. One should be here and now. Although the world wide web offers us a chance to reconnect, live out fantasies, and attach us to a variety of information, we must be where we're at. Live now.

I love the Internet, I love checking my e-mail, and downloading music, but I also know that I don't want to get stuck just being a person that is "electronic". To me it's important to have real relationships with the people around us, know our own community, and build it up. I love not having to order my pizza by phone. But guess what? I still have to tip the driver and get it directly from his hands.

Just a thought. I'm getting out of my apartment for the rest of the day...time to enjoy the natural things on this earth....