I sincerely hope we get back to just living. It is exhausting to note how many things (jobs, lives, hobbies) now are shared and "must" be shared on a global scale. The value of little moments is almost entirely gone, and it's disheartening. We are so focused on what we can be doing, rather than how we can be living.
I appreciate your willingness to not sugarcoat your beliefs into suggestions. Just getting after it, that's the true mark of a practical philosopher.
That shift will surely happen. Slowly but surely, people are beginning to realize their appreciation for nature and life.
I'm 20 years old. My current circumstances don't allot me much space to really experience life at the deepest level, but making that a goal in itself has made every tumultuous day another conquered trial. Also, you bring up an amazing point with Tim Ferris. It truly feels like a barrier to remain stuck in the routine of listening to advice that might hold, but eventually slides down the wall and into the bucket of sameness that plagues that particular niche. It's time to explore, for ourselves, what it means to live.
Thank you for these words. I started writing about this in 2010 with an article called ‘8 things to check besides your phone’ I also wrote this poem a few years ago:
220 likes and counting, Thomas. A nerve has been struck? Also, comments on others comments, folks chatting on same shared experiences, all knowing they are in the web, kinda or a lotta stuck, twisting a little, trying to break free. I quit drinking alcohol 6 years ago. The entire lens of my life has changed. Do I look longingly at a cold beer on a hot day sometimes? Yes. But gawd, the freedom is life altering. Zoe commented she had “her mind back’. Wow! So do I. Love as always, Dad.
The alcohol quitting has been a godsend for me too… wasn’t even pursuing it that, just happened after turning down most night outs, binge eating (now I try to eat as healthy as possible), aiming for proper sleep, trying intense enough exercising daily, etc.
Alcohol suddenly started getting in the way of ALL of it: sleeping would suffer, would wake up a tired vegetable and not be able to run, would be hungrier than usual, money drained, etc.
Can’t stress enough the financial benefits. For me it compounded into a more minimal lifestyle for even more savings that put me comfortably out of danger which translates into more comfort, better sleep, better exercising, so on and so forth.
I’m confident going offline would so many more similar benefits, working on that.
Years ago I heard Gary Vaynerchuck say actually something very thoughtful. He said (I paraphrase here) that social in his puberty and it needs time to grow up. I think social is about to get grown up.
Tim Ferris pod never landed with me. Same with a lot of TED talks. At some point I started wondering, “why don’t they ever talk like, talk to, or talk about an average everyday person that might actually have some wisdom?”
What I see are two worlds, the greater “big” world and the lesser world of the normal, everyman world. People who do TED talks are in the “big” world. I hate to use the word “big” due to Freudian implications and the “go big or go home” cultural mumbo jumbo. “This Freud who is he? Is he a passenger?” (Titanic)
Think of it as the world portrayed in Homer’s Iliad with the parallel worlds of the gods and the world of the soldiers on the battlefield. My two cents...
I have to agree. As someone that used to be chronically online, and made a living from it, I can tell you from the other side, life is fucking glorious without it.
This is really cool. First step for me has been limiting myself to Substack and a private discord. It’s by no means unplugged, but limited.
Corpos definitely knew what they tapping into with social media, smartphones, etc. Super unethical imo. BUT, and a very big BUT, it’s up to individuals (and families with kids) to manage their lives.
but i feel like we have to walk through the fire to get through to the other side— to be burnt out, insomniac and with aching necks before we can truly appreciate life with technology. and i believe the upcoming generations will have to go through that too.
Great article. Thanks! I live off the grid since 23 years, because I love to live fully, with all my senses God gave me. The earth is my home.
I sacrificed money, to stay healthy in my heart head and body. I never requet it. I stayed healthy,not sold my soul!
I watched the development in the mainstream and saw the loss of all sorts of skills, which they have to buy online now. Such a disability to think clearly and feel Joy...
That emotional numbness or overreaction has been decreased enormously. Meaninglessness killed many Souls. .
The big skills of humans is the quality, to feel real Love and peace. That you can't buy anywhere.
It's priceless.
Who is willing to surrender to the process to empty your head to give up addictions?
People love to manipulate and being manipulated. It's their false understanding of connection.
Being brainwashed and disassociated of the bodies, became standard.
Not to feel but to "know" is sexy.
It became "normal" to stay home all day. Hiding their neurosis es and social fears. Live life only for postings.
That dehumanizing development is a virus. Only a big war or/and individual diseases, can bring those lost souls back to the real juicy life.
By the way
I will stop, to help, when I see you out there in the road!
No one is having a good time being online all the time, that is true. But most people do not have a good time in the real world as well, that is why they are searching for a digital escape. When your life is good, you are very much balanced in your online time.
My senses agree; the pendulum seems to be starting to swing back. A good sign for authors and books too… although here I am reading this on my phone. Perhaps the reality is that it settles somewhere in the middle even though I read books in paper and am writing a novel in fountain pen. Yet I’m stuck with my phone for work.
How hypocritical is it that I found this by scrolling on the SS app while lying in bed first thing in the morning before I even get up and that I loved it so much that I'm gonna share it to my feed and check throughout the day to see if it gets any likes?
(Serious conundrum. When I think about writing for public consumption now, writing about the misery of technology especially, I know I will have to put it on social media [and SS is a kind of social media, especially since the advent of Notes]...)
However I think this is a case of “the knowledge that’s going to save us” from our own demise is served through the same pipes that’s serving us the poison to begin with.
...hope these wishes prove apt...there is a lot of VC money pinned and banked on the hope that they never do...but the investors have always been invested in our distractions and disempowerment...cans of coke to wash down the french fries...the old prospector eternally right...there is gold on those hills...and forests and rivers and lakes...enjoy the off button...
I sincerely hope we get back to just living. It is exhausting to note how many things (jobs, lives, hobbies) now are shared and "must" be shared on a global scale. The value of little moments is almost entirely gone, and it's disheartening. We are so focused on what we can be doing, rather than how we can be living.
I feel the same way too, Jo. So many are losing the art of living nowadays.
Every time I feel down or depressed it is directly connect to my screen usage. Insane.
I appreciate your willingness to not sugarcoat your beliefs into suggestions. Just getting after it, that's the true mark of a practical philosopher.
That shift will surely happen. Slowly but surely, people are beginning to realize their appreciation for nature and life.
I'm 20 years old. My current circumstances don't allot me much space to really experience life at the deepest level, but making that a goal in itself has made every tumultuous day another conquered trial. Also, you bring up an amazing point with Tim Ferris. It truly feels like a barrier to remain stuck in the routine of listening to advice that might hold, but eventually slides down the wall and into the bucket of sameness that plagues that particular niche. It's time to explore, for ourselves, what it means to live.
Whoaa... 20 years old! You sound so wise for your age. I'm sure you'll find a way to make that intention become a reality for you. Blessings 💜
Thank you for these words. I started writing about this in 2010 with an article called ‘8 things to check besides your phone’ I also wrote this poem a few years ago:
The lizard brain game
Always maintain
Dopamine gain
Every time it’s the same
Whether the numbers
Are high or low
You sigh when they don’t grow
Check it again
When you’re on the go
Comments, cool they feel my flow
But they’re people I hardly know
Or just that creepy guy- shit oh no
Is it that I’m unpopular? Irrelevant? Old?
Not hip to the algorithm
Not crackin’ the code?
But it’s something worse
Truth be told
The lizard brain game’s
Gone out of control
Got our eyes red and cold
Starin’ at a tiny screen
Hunched over and mean
And when it’s all said and done
Or it’s all swiped & scrolled
Like smoking in the 50s
Or Wild West and gold
Were we chasing the buzz
or breaking the mold?
Livin’ the dream
or losing our soul?
Loved reading your poem! Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks Bruno💜
220 likes and counting, Thomas. A nerve has been struck? Also, comments on others comments, folks chatting on same shared experiences, all knowing they are in the web, kinda or a lotta stuck, twisting a little, trying to break free. I quit drinking alcohol 6 years ago. The entire lens of my life has changed. Do I look longingly at a cold beer on a hot day sometimes? Yes. But gawd, the freedom is life altering. Zoe commented she had “her mind back’. Wow! So do I. Love as always, Dad.
The alcohol quitting has been a godsend for me too… wasn’t even pursuing it that, just happened after turning down most night outs, binge eating (now I try to eat as healthy as possible), aiming for proper sleep, trying intense enough exercising daily, etc.
Alcohol suddenly started getting in the way of ALL of it: sleeping would suffer, would wake up a tired vegetable and not be able to run, would be hungrier than usual, money drained, etc.
Can’t stress enough the financial benefits. For me it compounded into a more minimal lifestyle for even more savings that put me comfortably out of danger which translates into more comfort, better sleep, better exercising, so on and so forth.
I’m confident going offline would so many more similar benefits, working on that.
Years ago I heard Gary Vaynerchuck say actually something very thoughtful. He said (I paraphrase here) that social in his puberty and it needs time to grow up. I think social is about to get grown up.
You’re right, that actually is insightful 🤣
I hope so!
Me too. It’s puberty. Things can get weird before it gets better.
Very well said, Maarten.
Tim Ferris pod never landed with me. Same with a lot of TED talks. At some point I started wondering, “why don’t they ever talk like, talk to, or talk about an average everyday person that might actually have some wisdom?”
What I see are two worlds, the greater “big” world and the lesser world of the normal, everyman world. People who do TED talks are in the “big” world. I hate to use the word “big” due to Freudian implications and the “go big or go home” cultural mumbo jumbo. “This Freud who is he? Is he a passenger?” (Titanic)
Think of it as the world portrayed in Homer’s Iliad with the parallel worlds of the gods and the world of the soldiers on the battlefield. My two cents...
I wish to see more of this too, Miguel.
I have to agree. As someone that used to be chronically online, and made a living from it, I can tell you from the other side, life is fucking glorious without it.
*as she posts on substack
Jk Jk
This is really cool. First step for me has been limiting myself to Substack and a private discord. It’s by no means unplugged, but limited.
Corpos definitely knew what they tapping into with social media, smartphones, etc. Super unethical imo. BUT, and a very big BUT, it’s up to individuals (and families with kids) to manage their lives.
but i feel like we have to walk through the fire to get through to the other side— to be burnt out, insomniac and with aching necks before we can truly appreciate life with technology. and i believe the upcoming generations will have to go through that too.
Great article. Thanks! I live off the grid since 23 years, because I love to live fully, with all my senses God gave me. The earth is my home.
I sacrificed money, to stay healthy in my heart head and body. I never requet it. I stayed healthy,not sold my soul!
I watched the development in the mainstream and saw the loss of all sorts of skills, which they have to buy online now. Such a disability to think clearly and feel Joy...
That emotional numbness or overreaction has been decreased enormously. Meaninglessness killed many Souls. .
The big skills of humans is the quality, to feel real Love and peace. That you can't buy anywhere.
It's priceless.
Who is willing to surrender to the process to empty your head to give up addictions?
People love to manipulate and being manipulated. It's their false understanding of connection.
Being brainwashed and disassociated of the bodies, became standard.
Not to feel but to "know" is sexy.
It became "normal" to stay home all day. Hiding their neurosis es and social fears. Live life only for postings.
That dehumanizing development is a virus. Only a big war or/and individual diseases, can bring those lost souls back to the real juicy life.
By the way
I will stop, to help, when I see you out there in the road!
Blessings to you!
So many favorite passages. This one stayed on top with a dozen close-seconds:
“Work feels good and effort is a joy. We never seem to hurry but get a lot done. Conversations come alive. Sleep is deep.”
No one is having a good time being online all the time, that is true. But most people do not have a good time in the real world as well, that is why they are searching for a digital escape. When your life is good, you are very much balanced in your online time.
Also true
Damn, Tommy. I felt like I just witnessed a speech and the crowd went wild.
Also, I laughed out loud at the Tokyo line. I feel seen! Hahaha.
My senses agree; the pendulum seems to be starting to swing back. A good sign for authors and books too… although here I am reading this on my phone. Perhaps the reality is that it settles somewhere in the middle even though I read books in paper and am writing a novel in fountain pen. Yet I’m stuck with my phone for work.
Ah the paradox of reading on a phone, and on what is increasingly becoming another social medium, about detaching from tech and social media.
How hypocritical is it that I found this by scrolling on the SS app while lying in bed first thing in the morning before I even get up and that I loved it so much that I'm gonna share it to my feed and check throughout the day to see if it gets any likes?
(Serious conundrum. When I think about writing for public consumption now, writing about the misery of technology especially, I know I will have to put it on social media [and SS is a kind of social media, especially since the advent of Notes]...)
Yeah, thought that too.
However I think this is a case of “the knowledge that’s going to save us” from our own demise is served through the same pipes that’s serving us the poison to begin with.
Bringing back hanging and communing at the library...
Hanging at the library is so underrated - thanks for reading Kaitlyn (:
...hope these wishes prove apt...there is a lot of VC money pinned and banked on the hope that they never do...but the investors have always been invested in our distractions and disempowerment...cans of coke to wash down the french fries...the old prospector eternally right...there is gold on those hills...and forests and rivers and lakes...enjoy the off button...
PREACH.