THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, TODAY #1

THE FUTURE IS NOW.

From lightsabres and hologram messages to hover boards and flying Delorians. How the movies perception of the future in a galaxy far far away was not too far off our own reality.

2015 is tomorrow (or now depending on when you've clicked the link on your smartphone, tablet or laptop) it's the furthest year in time that The Doc and Marty travel in Back To The Future; while our skies aren't filled with flying cars, the realities are not to dissimilar from one another.

Let's use the timeline of our favourite time travelers adventures in the space time continuum as an example. If you took a person from 1955 and showed them 2015, they'd think the future was now. Imagine the skyline in London post war, compared to today's ever growing skyscrapers and apartment blocks.

Get them to use their dial telephone to make a land line call, then show them the possibilities, of not only wireless land lines with more than one phone in a property, show them your smartphone, the device that allows you to carry all your important documents, contacts and social life around in your pocket.

If that wasn't enough to blow their mind, show them your Face time, video calling, and Facebook messenger calling. 'What's Facebook?' 'Oh it's our social network, our place in the future where everyone has an online profile that allows them to interact with people the world over for free.'

Now imagine going back to the earliest time period they travel to in the final movie and show all the above technology to a person in 1885...

In less than 150 years look how the world has evolved. If that wasn't an eye opener for you, now imagine what 150 years is to the Earth. Bet you don't feel so ancient now!

I used Encarta at school for digital learning. I remember when my high school first got a classroom of computers formerly having just the one in the entire school! My 18 year old friends don't remember that, they've never used Encarta or had the need for CD-Rom learning.

While I joke with my parents for the way they learnt at school, kids today see my education as prehistoric.

On the topic of dinosaurs, did you know that there is more time between the life periods of the Stegosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus Rex, than between the T-Rex and an Iphone. What's really scary is that in just under 70 years, humans went from taking flight to landing on the moon.

With technology ever evolving and the world becoming ever more connected, you have to wonder what the future in 150 years will look like. Sadly none of us will be around to tell, but perhaps your grandchildren will.

I'm glad I was alive to see the time before the millennium, before the birth of the smartphone, before the creation of Google... that's right kiddies, KG was roaming the Earth before your one stop answer to everything. A time when if you didn't know something you could look it up in a dictionary or phone a friend!

I'm excited to see what the future holds, I used to want to be an astronaut, a Jedi (still do actually NASA if you're reading) so in an age when people are attempting skydives from the edge of the Earth's atmosphere and commercial flights to space are more than just an idea, I find myself interested as to where mankind will focus their evolution of technology next.

If you really find the concept of space travel interesting, watch the trailer located here for Virgin Galactic. I've taken a Virgin Cross-Country in my time and never had a problem, but maybe I'll wait a decade or two for Galactic journeys.

It's not just the gadgets we use, the internet and the way we use technology that has evolved. Movies are now filmed in 3D and viewed at regular cinemas, when I was a kid you'd need to find an Imax theatre.

Our whole way we use technology has evolved from something unheard of to something accessible to all, that we use in everything from socializing, to work to personal fitness and learning.

If anything were ever truer today, it's that the future is possibility, nothing is impossible.

LOVE & PEACE

KG

LITTLEBEARWOLFCOVE

MAKING CHANGES

It's the night before the night before Christmas and the wind is howling outside my newly acquired apartment; I am in a contemplative mood. For Rob and I moved out almost a month ago now, him from a shared place and me from hotel mum and dad. 

Don't get me wrong, I loved living at home, I just, well like many people in their mid-twenties I just really needed a space of my own. 

There's been some advantages (me-space, staying up and doing what I like) and disadvantages (I've never cleaned so much, washed up so much stuff) and some entirely new experiences (I never thought I'd care if the rug was slightly as quiff!) Generally I feel happy, I feel peaceful. It has got me thinking about my lifestyle in general. At college I lived with what I had, at uni I spent lots a lot of the time, now I live to my means, which are by no means great or vast. 

I get by.

Recently I've found pleasures in making things, recycling things and being generally more eco-friendly.

No this is isn't a rant of a post, I'm not going to tell you how you should live. This is just me personally. I've never been one for wanting of riches, mansions and expensive cars. I'd rather live in a tree house and watch the stars every night, eating wild berries and wander round barefoot.

Maybe one day I will.

Generally running water, heating and somewhere to keep food fresh are also important on my living needs; so we found ourselves a beautiful two bedroom apartment. It's perfect for the two of us and seeing as that's how we intend our lives to stay for a while (at least) it feels like the perfect little home. 

I wanted a first floor place as I like to feel close to the stars. Rob wanted a garden to spend time in, in the summer. If you'd told me two months ago we'd have found our perfect place with both of those things checked, I'd not have believed you.

It's close to the near town and only a ferry trip from the nearest city. 

I decided that this little space, it's perfect for a variety of reasons. It's small so I don't feel lost in a huge space I'll never use. It's affordable for living and heating and it doesn't take me an entire day to clean it. (Despite the fact I've developed a need to constantly clean.)

I wanted to go further than not having too much space, than keeping utilities low (ish), I wanted to create a cosy, comfortable, welcoming home whilst remaining economically friendly.

I've taken to recycling glass jars and using them for flower pots, candle holders, potpourri holders, utensil holders and general storage of foods.

We've been lucky to be given pre-loved blankets, pillows, cushions and throws, it's only awakened the pleasure of treasure hunting in thrift/charity stores. 

I've decided for 2015 I'm going to post about my DIY/ Recycling moments, my treasure hunts and my little home. It's my way of actively pursuing a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Since we've been  recycling goods, we've used less rubbish, we've not bought much stuff at all and it feels like the start of a wonderful adventure. 

One of my resolutions for 2015 is to purchase only things of need new, everything else shall be pre-loved, recycled, thrifted or handmade. I aim to support local business', independent business' and create as much myself as I can.

I'm also on the lookout for ideas and inspiration, do you live to only your means? Do you have great tips for recycling, thrifting or even creating things for you and your home? Perhaps you know of a blogger or someone who does; feel free to leave a comment with their or your link. I'm certainly keen to chat more about this with like minded people. 

LOVE & PEACE

KG

LITTLEBEARWOLFCOVE

LIFE THOUGHTS ONE

If you make something your everything you stand to lose everything, if you make nothing your everything, you'll never experience it either. It is better to have loved and lost than to have never have loved at all. When you reach the end of your journey, it won't be the things you did do, you will regret, it will only be the ones you didn't.

You've probably heard sentiments similar to those before, maybe people have even said them to you. It doesn't automatically change your mind, your feelings towards that thing or make you feel better. We live in a world where it's on one hand never been easier to succeed at your dreams, on the other hand, it's never been such a struggle. 

There are more people on the Earth than there ever were before. For every thing you think, do or feel there are 10,000 people at least, thinking, doing and wondering the same thing. Yet we are all still completely different, completely independent of one another. Despite the fact that at the end of the day, we are all made of the same thing, regardless of gender, age, class, race and size.

Isn't that amazing?

I've learnt a lot about myself this year, I've learnt a great deal about people, yet what is 365 days of life compared to the utter billions this world has already endured. Oddly enough, that provides me with comfort. I feel like a wizard of knowledge compared to when I was 16, yet imagine the things I will have seen and learnt in another decade. I feel like a good wine, I don't worry about getting old, I embrace it. In fact I'd even go as far to say I'm getting better with age. (Put down those pitchforks, I'm not being arrogant, I don't mean look at me, I mean from me looking out at the world.)

I've never been as old as I am right now, I'll never be this young again. Time is all I have so I may as well use it as best I can. The only time I have is now.

I've learnt that friendship is tangible. Even the longest of friendships can sink in a single storm. Some friendships will ride out into the eye of the storm by your side. 

I've mourned broken friendships in the past, you should not mourn the development of yourself or others. People grow, physically and spiritually and that is not something we can control. Whether on your part or another, there will be times, when people move from your life as you do theirs, I now try to face those moments with dignity, grace and understanding.

If you judge people you have no time to love them. 

All that you have to do, is decide what to do with the time that has been given to you.
Not all those who wander are lost.

I've learnt a lot in a short amount of time, yet I still have much to learn. There are times I feel strong enough to hold up the world and others when I seek strength from it.

As I look to the dawn of 2015, I know these things - I am stronger now than I was a year ago. I feel fear, love, sadness, happiness, the same as others, I can't always control those feelings, I do have a choice on how I may react to them, to life. 

Living is hard, life is ongoing. There are no happy ever after's and though we are all banded here together, we all walk alone. Even those we feel the closest of affinities too, we drift from at times. 

That should not be a sad thought, being alone used to terrify me. I've spent much time alone in recent years and although I value the companionship of others, in fact go as far to say it is necessary for not slipping completely out of touch with life, I also relish my own time. Taking steps on my own, spending time on my own, being in the company of only myself, no longer terrifies me. 

While there is not a moment to lose, sometimes admiring the journey thus far, is the only way to move forward in life. 

The next year is full of up's and downs, new friends, old friends, new places, familiar places, it's one part of the next chapter in the never ending story of life.

LOVE & PEACE

KG

LITTLEBEARWOLFCOVE