Meditate as much as you can. Being in the present moment lets you notice your thought patterns and impulses that you act on and puts you back in control. Art of letting go. You don't loose anything if you are not on a Facebook for a week. You don't loose anything by leaving your phone home for a day. Water still flows and birds still sing. When was the last time you saw the sun setting or felt the wind in your face, mind empty, being the sun and wind? When was the last time you really tasted your food? I am speaking to you! Just relax for a while, world will continue spinning without you thinking about it. We all are just a drops of water falling from the heron's beak.
Interesting to compare this to the wave of nostalgia for our agrarian past that hit during the 1930s and 40s, leading to novels like Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and The Grapes of Wrath. The past that the author yearns for was the future of those writers.<p>That nostalgia didn't stop the clock from moving forward or life from getting ever more hectic and complicated. But there seems to be something deep inside our psyches that yearns for "the village": a place where the rules are known, the people can be trusted, and time can be spent rather than hoarded.
This article brought on more sadness than I thought it would. As I have grown older and remember times like the one the author described I miss the quiet and peace of an unconnected world. It is a pity that younger generations will never know the this feeling unless it is forced. The freedom of being quiet is sadly lost to the past.
A truly masterfully written article that makes us yearn for the days now past when everything, both inside and outside of ourselves, was much quieter.<p>The amount of noise today is unprecedented. I am reminded of the movie _Her_ in which one sees a world where technology can move into the background and augment human relationships. Granted, there are moments in that film when the tech hurts instead of hinders, but compare that to today's world where everything has the "in your face" mentality.
I loved this piece. It took me back to a day when I was about eight or so and my friends were all playing 'bases' in this local wooded area with a ravine. Some of us would hide for what felt like ages in hopes of catching a clean route to 'free our prisoners' from the other team's base.<p>About twelve years ago or so I was living in this condo that had really noisy neighbors. One screaming baby on the left, and an enthusiastic Pantera fan on the right. The folks on the right, when not listening to Pantera, were constantly yelling right near the wall... or so it felt.<p>This was the first time I really discovered the joy of earplugs. A year or so later I got my first pair of industrial ear protection. They cut out about 20 - 30db (or something like that), and it was just enough to allow myself to be alone in an otherwise busy space.<p>Years later I still value regular periods of silence. These days I still have a pair of industrial ear protection, but I mostly use decent earplugs [1].<p>Another aspect of seeking silence is to completely (or almost completely) eliminate notifications.<p>For those of us with ADHD, meditation is fantastic, but it does take time. The love for silence didn't happen right away. It took me quite a while to be able to shut my mind up.<p>In the early 00s I went through these psychoneurophysiology sessions to help learn to focus, in hopes of eliminating the negative aspects of ADHD. One part of the 'training' was to have sensors on my ears and one on my head. While I tried to focus, the machine would measure my brainwaves... anyway, once I hit 'the zone', the cute hot air balloon would float up and over the silo. Tapping into this 'zone' really helped me break away from the constant chatter of my surroundings and my brain.<p>Like some, I do love the romance that comes with a lo-fi world. Silence, space, and peace are special. In the same, I really appreciate some aspects of the technology we've been blessed with. it all comes down to finding your off switch so these things can become special again.<p>[1] the earplugs I'm using - <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00RM6Q9XW" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00RM6Q9XW</a>
This is fine, but I tire of the obscure titles and needlessly leading writing styles. I often spend the first few paragraphs desperate for an abstract or any hint as to what I'm reading. Only in the end for it to be more exposition than idea. Click bait by another name.<p>My kingdom for an abstract.
A very nice read.<p>I found it ironic that the corner of the last paragraph was obscured by an "Up Next" pop-open, ready to push me on to the next thing before I'd even had a moment to digest it.
Ah, nostalgia. Its amazing how one can simultaneously forget the downsides, while amplifying the upsides. (Not to take away from the authors fond memories of course)<p>I was just thinking recently about how great it was to be in high school. Few responsibilities, spent lots of time with friends, homework and work were easy. Of course, then I remember I couldnt live alone, had little money, homework and work seemed hard because I had nothing to compare it to, drama at school, etc. And try meeting up with flaky teenagers without a cell phone :P<p>Of course, if you find yourself feeling stressed out by the connectedness, by all means take a break. You don't need to check email or be on slack all day. But at the same time, don't get too stressed out thinking we've lost something without gaining anything. You have the option to turn your phone off, you haven't lost anything. But it is now easier than ever to keep in touch, geography is even less relevant.<p>Obligatory xkcd: "It is, unfortunately, one of the chief characteristics of modern business to always be in a hurry. In olden times it was different. - The Medical Record, 1884"<p><a href="https://xkcd.com/1227/" rel="nofollow">https://xkcd.com/1227/</a>