So an observation from coming home here to The Ranch, as I am reminded every time I am here: one can pretty easily live without the bulk of the outside world.
Less the incoming cable and InterWeb, one can go long days without any sort of news from "the outside world". Even more so, one can pretty easily go without talking to folks as well for about the same period of time (I can see a case where a once a week visit to the outside world - say a Sunday of church, breakfast out, and shopping - could be the extent of contact needed).
To the (perhaps largely younger) crowd, I am sure that this is a world that would be beyond pleasant imagination. Little contact, no second by second feed, Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) at an all time high - this might seem a sort of disconnected Hell.
But there is solace in silence, a settling of thoughts and ideas, the ability to listen to that which is unseen but of equal value to that which is seen. One can be involved in the outer world to the extent that one wishes to - unlike the urban alternative, where the world is constantly being thrust in your face without any choice in the matter.
One comes to understand why the great writers and thinkers and theologians always preferred the silence and being apart from the world to do their best work. It gives one a clarity of thought and experience that (at least I) could not replicate in the urban world.
It has also become a simple act of rebellion.
By refusing to constantly "plug in", by not always thinking about what others think (instead of generating my own thoughts), and by not constantly taking in a stream of information from other sources, one establishes and strengthens one's self as an individual. One learns to think, to reason, to consider, to decide - all for one's self. I no longer become locked into the exercise of the great Hive Mind, but rather into the exercise of a free mind.
Fight the system at the most basic level. Take some time - even five minutes, but strive for more - to disconnect from the system.
Learn to think - to breathe - again.
Very well said.
ReplyDeleteif David had a game boy here would be no book of Psalms
ReplyDeleteThank you Leigh. Being able to not be plugged in has been a treat.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good point Deborah - in fact, I think many great things would not have been accomplished if there was an InterWeb in prior history. I wonder if 100 years from now someone will notice how there was a slow cessation of anything like what had occurred in previous centuries.
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