Saturday, 19 April 2014

Is the digital age moving us to closer to the path of extinction?

I came across a beautiful post yesterday that I just had to share and it stayed with me for the rest of the day so I decided to write about it this morning. And it was something by David Sable, CEO of Y&R who said :
Digital is everything, but not everything is digital. So yes, being online has made our lives better in so many ways. In fact, I’m online as I write this. But let’s not forget that there’s a real world out there, too, the one we live in.
The most creative people know the value of both and how to be the bridge between them.
No better words spoken. No better words written. And they resonated on such a deeper level than I ever expected because I too am worrying about how insular we are becoming. How the indoors seems more attractive than the outdoors. How we are beginning to spend more time researching about life than we are living life. More time trying to become experts about the theory of life rather than becoming experts in the practical side of life.
I worry that by spending so much time indoors we will slowly but surely desensitize ourselves from the lives we are destroying because of our insatiable need for more electricity and creature comforts so we can maintain our indoor life. I worry that if we are not careful we will isolate ourselves from feeling, from seeing, from experiencing life when it is going on all around us because we have become so disconnected from life.
Do not forget the real world we live in. Beautiful words . Beautiful sentiment. I agree the digital age is here and it is taking us to places we never dreamed possible in our minds. Exposing us to experiences, people, places that may have been out of our reach before. Allowing us to see tragedies and wonders unfold in different parts of the world instantaneously and giving us the ability to make our own decisions about what is happening based on the people on the ground providing us with a window into their lives.
But there is nothing like standing outside. Being in nature. Seeing and feeling how interconnected we all are. Inhaling the fresh air. Watching a flower bloom. A bird fly. A butterfly fluttering by. Nothing like feeling a slight breeze brushing our cheeks. The smell of the ocean. The salt stinging our faces.
Nothing like making eye contact with someone. Seeing the expressions on their faces change when we speak. When something moves them or hurts them. Nothing like a smile breaking out on someone’s face unexpectedly. Nothing like a physical hug when we need one.
In essence, there is nothing like the reality of the world we live in. Giving us the ability to want to preserve and sustain our living world by seeing it disappearing around us. Noticing that there are no bluebirds nesting in my yard this year because the crows have taken over. Alerting me to take steps to stop the disappearance of the blue bird. Being outside allows us the ability us to intervene to help stop the extinction of natural beauty.
Whereas when we live in a completely virtual world where our only contact with others is through a machine, we become like machines. We create beauty that no longer exists. But only exists in our minds and not in our physical space. Making it much easier for us to abuse and overuse our resources because we become detached from the physical world.
As I type I think of the irony of this blog because here I am using the Internet to post my blog and I feel a tinge of guilt for embracing this digital age. There is nothing wrong with the digital age, it is a beautiful and levelling mechanism for us all to experience through our minds what we choose to experience. But at the same time, it is just as important for us to be outside. To experience the outdoors. To create a balance between the digital age and living life. There is a time and place for everything. Allowing us to have time indoors and time outdoors so we can see the benefit of both. And that way we maintain our creativity because we understand there is ebb and flow to life – a beginning and end and a journey in between –by learning to balance our technological world with our physical world – we can continue to flourish as a human race. I pray…Namaste

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