Technology as a Tool for Exploration

This blogpost is a set of musings that I am posting for a scholarship application. I think the concept is very interesting and I hope it gives you something to think about (if you haven't already).

Question: How do you explore the world through technology?

Technology is everywhere. Even in various third world countries, many people understand the concept of technology, and while many argue that technology is used for evil, it can also be used for exploration. One of the biggest ways I use technology to explore the world around me is through the use of my smart phone, the internet, and cameras. In one day I might use my iPhone to look up words I am unfamiliar with, find the answer to questions I do not know, and learn about people or parts of the world I want to know more about. I am almost guaranteed to take at least one picture per day and I also use these various technological tools on a daily basis, to learn more in my schooling, my creative abilities, and knowledge on how to accomplish physical tasks. By using technology to answer various questions, I am able to make more discoveries about myself, and (in turn) the world. For example, using the internet and websites like Pinterest or Google I am able to get knowledge and inspiration for ideas that help me to create new things-- a form of exploration. Being an artist and photographer, I use these tools often to help learn new skills and improve existing skills so I can explore new techniques. 

Modern-day photography is an art that requires the use of many types of technology. You have to understand how to use the camera itself, photo shop on a computer, organizational software, various internet sites, and multiple hardware systems that help you accomplish your goals in photography. Like most forms of art, photography is a way to explain and explore life. It helps you notice things that many people overlook and seek the beauty in everything. As you seek the beauty in life, and try to see things from a different perspective through a camera lens, you will explore new territories every day.

Another important way to explore the world is through knowledge-- whether it is knowledge found in yourself, or someone else. This is where the internet and smart phones can be very helpful. Before I left for a recent trip to Germany, I was able to use the internet to help me search the area I would be going to and learn about the culture so I could understand more about that part of the world. By virtually exploring Germany before I even got there, I was able to understand the history and culture in a way that helped me better connect to the people. Even without the use of internet, my iPhone helps me explore the world by granting me knowledge as it holds various books and even by allowing me to store/express my own thoughts and ideas in the notes section. I can keep up with people in my household and people across the world by using my phone. Then, I get an inside look at what's going on in the world and have the opportunity to ask questions that make great explorations of all kinds.

Using cameras, smart phones, and the internet are really only a few examples of the technology that is all around us. Technology is everywhere-- and we have the ability to use it for great things on a daily basis. We can use technology to discover so many different things about the world around us if we choose to make the exploration.

--Emma

The mountain

Photo by Laurel Burlew

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the importance our culture places on emotional value.  I was writing in my journal about it and decided to post what I wrote. 
So!  Emotions.  Our culture puts such an emphasis on the way we feel.  TV shows and movies are specifically created in ways that will make us feel a certain way.  We hang out with people because they make us feel good.  We get married and divorced simply because we don't feel a certain way any more.  It's all about the feelings and emotions we're experiencing at this moment...even, I think, in the Christian culture.  It seems as if everyone is wrapped up in wanting to feel like we're in a certain spiritual place with God all the time.  But it's just not so.  Emotions are so wishy-washy.  We will not have only one emotion for our entire lives; they constantly change.
And that's okay.  We were created with emotions, and they live inside of us for a reason.  But the plain and simple fact is that we will not always be on a spiritual high.  We won't always be at the top of the mountain--sometimes we'll be climbing it, sometimes we'll be in a valley down at the bottom, sometimes we'll be trekking back down from the top, and--yes--sometimes we will indeed be at the top.  It's all part of life, and it's all part of our own personal journeys.
Honestly, right now in my life I am not on the mountain top.  Sometimes I am, but at this moment I'm somewhere in the middle.  Does that mean God isn't with me?  No.  Does it mean I don't love him as much as when I am on the mountaintop?  Heck no!  I love Him just as much now as I do when I'm up there, and I am following after Him just as much.  Am I always supposed to be at the top of the mountain?  Nope, and that's totally okay.  It's not a sin.  Love isn't something that is dependent on emotions--quite the opposite.  Love is constant, despite what we may or may not feel at the moment. 
I am on my journey of life, just as everyone on earth is.  I have repented of my sins, accepted Christ into my life, and have dedicated all I am to Him.  My goal for the entirety of my life is to know Him and be known by Him.  I know with certainty that when I pass away on this earth, I will see my Father in heaven and I will forever be with Him, loving a perfect God and worshiping Him.
My emotions along the way will vary from complete joy to utter depression.  I have already tasted both, and I am learning how to navigate through whatever God allows me to go through.  The mountain is ever-present in my life, and I love it when I am at the top and enjoying all the hard work it has taken me to get there.  When I am not at that mountaintop, however, I need not be disappointed.  Life is full of seasons of every sort.  And in each and every one, He is with me.  Not only that, He goes before me!  That means whatever I've got coming at me, whether it's a rock slide or a wild animal hiding behind the bushes, or anything else, He's already ahead of it and I can get through it too. 
Following Christ isn't strictly emotional.  It is an emotional journey, to be sure, but if my faith rested on nothing but my emotions I would not have real faith.  Real faith is following God through thick and thin, no matter what I feel in the moment.
So, what do you think?  Does our culture put too much emphasis on how we feel?  Do we spend too much time wrapped up in our emotions?  Why or why not?