How going offline helps tech workers tune in
“Beware the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.”
I’m shelving the world in my pocket tracking device between 1900 and 1000 daily.
My joy and presence is greatly amplified if I give myself this gift, of being in real life.
The catalysts were many:
Most earthshaking was looking into my godson’s wide open eyes and seeing his awe and curiosity just overflowing from him. He and all kiddos deserve our gorgeous, attentive, expressive faces looking right back at them, in appreciation and connection.
Next was another sprightly nephew, who likes Fortnite. I had no idea what that was til listening to the NYT podcast “Microsoft and the Metaverse” yesterday.
Minute 7 talks about how Fortnite is the on-ramp to the Metaverse. This future is not one I want to bestow upon our youngest. Going off the grid is the most peaceful and spiritual thing to me. Growing up camping, boating, and riding horses made me who I am, and none of that involved screens. The sense of accomplishment and healthy pride from our own achievements (actually using our brains and bodies) is undeniable, something VR and AI can never replicate.
An author I know wrote, “You don’t need a Metaverse. You need a friend.” One who knows only unfeeling automata and simulacra of relationships and connection, loses the essence of humanity.
Lastly, I see a side effect of the pandemic as magnifying screen time and the on-demand economy (which I call menace economy): Netflix, Amazon, tv, video games, e-learning, Zoom dates, ordering food, ordering everything at a few clicks. All of this relies on a vast underclass of essential workers (which I call expendable workers), and I choose to opt-out of all of this as much as I can. In doing so, I hope to use my own resources and faculties over convenience.
Spending time with beloved kids and babies makes one so much less selfish, and so much more aware of how our environment shapes us. The number of littles in my world is growing, and my heart grows right along with them.
You are what you pay attention to.
I awoke today to pea soup fog in my Bernal neighborhood, after a deep night’s rest, after a 10 day sojourn.
With the Sierras to the east and coast to the west, moisture is trapped in our Bay, and the high atmospheric pressure is a lid that maintains it. Called tule fog, it’s different from summer fog (“Fogust,” in my terms) since it’s lower, wetter and even thicker than usual. It’s named after the wet grasslands of CA’s central valley.
Travel has been the best education. The act of leaving and returning grants me a beginner’s mind, rare and new insights into familiar environments, a deeper appreciation of my surroundings, and a new perspective on a place’s inhabitants. (This knowledge gained is in addition to the vast history lesson into geography, politics, language, art, and culture that I’ve gleaned from living in disparate places.)
This trip made audible the call to the mountains, which I’ve already heard and heeded, but now know it resides within me still, ardent as ever. A mountain cabin full-time is a no-go, for a hermit or recluse I am not. As wondrous as the communion with nature is- living close to the land, offline even off grid, skiing-hiking-biking each day, having moments of immersive, experiential joy (This trip held one: I lunched lakeside with a single duckling, watching him dive-bomb his way to his lunch, gulping fishes, and imagining the richness of his delight upon realizing this whole lake is his alone.)- the friendships, socialization, and crucial resources like diverse food and quality medical care are all nonnegotiables for me. This point, as well, is something I’ve already learned the hard way after 2 years in Slovakia, and the latter benefits of living in society remain my must haves.
How much of life is finding out what you’ve already discovered about yourself, something you’ve hidden away, become unconscious of, or forsaken to fulfill duties of work and family or fit into a group or community? Why do so many of us forever renounce our own needs, allowing a false self to spring to the forefront, only realizing the extent of our unfulfilled dreams and yearnings on our deathbeds, if then? At once, I see this as a tragic shame and a necessary part of keeping society well functioning. Surely there is a balance.
Another lesson from this trip is the value of rest, reset and recharge time, for the health and happiness of oneself and the care toward one’s dearest relationships. Amidst the backdrop of our global turmoil, time to replenish is indispensable.
When my “cup is full” as my best friend says, I can give abundant creative energy to my home and work, and partake in in-depth strategic planning for the future. I can give what, in our tech-focused era, is the greatest honor: the gift of my full, present, undivided attention.
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Jennifer parks 