It's been a while since I noticed how superficial many of our online connections are, and how social networking platforms enable us to flaunt our hubris. What good does it do us to publish pictures of our latest workout or dinner?
“Only a small percentage of the population appreciates loneliness. All of these people must have worldly knowledge and the character to despise their hubris in order to realise the ridiculousness of it.”
Cowley, Abraham
Should our self-esteem be determined by the number of likes we receive or the number of followers we gain? Isn't it true that we should seek out richer experiences? Is there a way to get away from pop-ups, short tweets, sensationalism, and the digital world?
YouTube videos, clickbait, and Zoom discussions are only a small part of our modern life. Such things lead us down rabbit holes, preventing us from making deeper relationships and pursuing our goals.
Going there and being present in the moment, then experiencing something, is what real life is all about. If necessary, spending hours alone and following a hobby. Connecting with others and speaking with them face to face is part of helping them. Yes, we are currently experiencing a pandemic, which makes things much more difficult, as I understand it. But it's not unthinkable!
Perhaps this is why I enjoy painting outside. I experience a sense of freedom and delight every time I take my paint can out into the desert or forest. It's something I'm aware of. Solitude and creative focus provide me with a level of transcendence that digital life cannot.
Even at my art studio, where I am absorbed in drawing or painting, I feel as if time has stood still and I am transitioning emotionally to a delightful dimension.
These kinds of encounters are the antidote to modern life. It liberates us from our egoism, as well as the often superficial appeal of social media and the Internet. Gardening, hiking, painting, woodworking, music making, and a variety of other analogue activities provide these opportunities.
Helen MacDonald reminds us in her wonderful book " His for Hawk" how self-absorbedness prevents us from seeing more:
“At scale, we're terrible. Climate change is also unthinkable; the things that dwell on the earth are too little to care. We're not perfect all of the time. We don't recall what happened here previously; we don't care for what we don't have. We can't even imagine how things will be different after we die. We keep score, and we only tie knots and lines for ourselves.
The nobility of his hawks soaring over the gorgeous skyscape is the transcendence for hawk master Paul Manning. Helen MacDonald discovered the same thing with the hawk. Transcendence, on the other hand, for me is found in the creative arts, where ink and paint combine to enable me convey my artistic vision.
“Never limit your mind; he possesses exceptional intelligence; or your heart; he possesses an incredible capacity for compassion; or your soul; he, too, possesses an outstanding capacity for transcendence.”
Matshona Dhliwayo
So, how are you doing? Are you fed up with the constant barrage of online noise, digital clutter, and distracting notifications and posts that come with modern life? Looking for something a little more substantial? Is it true that you're on a quest? Why not rearrange your schedule to make more time for the people you love and the creative endeavours that bring you joy?
When will you grasp that our lives entail more than continually parading on social media and following others' updates? Corbett Barr realised this, so he wiped the slate clean and started over...
Isn't it possible that we should all start over? It's possible that this is the remedy to modern existence...