I've spent a lifetime of work in marketing communications and publishing, traveling, clubbing, concerts, fine wining and dining, outdoor activities galore, and a myriad of adventures.
Less mobile and motivated than I once was, I now spend most of my time in front of a computer with three huge monitors, an iPad Pro, and an iPhone 13 ProMax.
It seems that these are my world now, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.
Combining my various social media accounts, I follow a few thousand people, and in turn, a few thousand follow me.
I can video chat in real-time with friends around the planet.
I can write an e-book and have the spelling, syntax, and style corrected by an AI-driven app.
I can cartoon with incredible drawing apps such as ProCreate on my iPad.
I can shoot macro photography on my desk using my iPhone with an equal or better photographic system than any SLR or DSLR camera I’ve ever owned.
At the flick of my wrist, I can visually visit Lisbon, Caracas, or Beijing.
I can look up every recipe known to man with my keyboard.
I can play scrabble, poker, or chess and an unending myriad of games against opponents from all over the globe in real-time.
I can listen to any piece of music ever composed or pretty much almost every movie ever made without getting up from my large, comfortable swivel chair.
I can order food online, buy from millions of products and have them delivered as early as the next day.
Authoritative health information is readily available, as is the world’s vast collection of literature.
I can stroll through the world’s great museums at will.
And all of the above without taking my car, lining up at an airport after paying exorbitant Uber or airport parking fees.
No trekking up mountains or all day walking around through crowds of tourists - most of whom I wouldn’t let into my house or even on my property - or staying in overpriced hotels or Air BNBs.
Forget bank or restaurant lineups.
I can perform every known financial transaction online.
I can source the recipe on my computer and whip up a delicious creamy shrimp risotto with mascarpone for myself and my dinner guests in about the same time it would take me to find a parking spot for my car downtown near a busy restaurant.
And In a pinch, a myriad of services will deliver any food preparation my heart desires.
Now you’ll point out that the true richness of most of these experiences comes from actually being there, and I agree when it comes to younger people with little life experience. All the inconvenience, costs, and efforts are part of their journey of discovery.
But once you’ve been in dozens of airports and endless line-ups, dined in hundreds of fine restaurants, trekked around foreign destinations, etc., you’ve gained the basis of first-hand experience, allowing you to appreciate many of these events from an online distance.
It’s one of the few yet significant advantages of being in the early winter of one’s life.
This is my little universe, my final one, yet it’s an endless source of pleasure and fulfillment, demanding nothing from others and little wasted effort on my part.
And I just love it.
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