Distract yourself with nature and peel your eyes from the screen.
In this digital age, technology is rapidly improving. Our cellphones are becoming our main source of information, entertainment, and communication. What’s next?
As a millennial I remember witnessing the slow and gradual improvements in our computers, cellphones and televisions over the years. In those days we bragged about polyphonic ringtones and one-gigabyte hard drives.
Lest we forget how we clamoured and queued for eight-megapixel cellphones years before. I’m especially jealous of how easily the youngsters of today have embraced the amazing game graphics displayed now. They would burst out laughing if they saw the fuzzy textures of the games that defined our generation.
As varsity students, we couldn’t rely on an app to book us an Uber to class. Some of us had to brave the dangers of navigating the taxi rank, and many still do. Now dating apps have given us an ocean’s worth of options. We can be left swiping endlessly on a platform. On this platform, we only show our best pictures in the hopes of securing a match. But hey, it’s not all doom and gloom. I understand the convenience and efficiency of technology. Many people are finding their partners online these days.
I am amazed at the breakneck speed of technological innovation. Artificial intelligence advances quickly, too. Meanwhile, we’ve become impatient and overstimulated.
These days, I’m finding it easier to slip into a robotic rhythm. I check my phone every few minutes and doom-scroll on Instagram reels. I also search for the latest viral TikTok video that has everyone talking. Or, scrolling through the comments section is where a war of words can quickly explode. It can have you reaching for the popcorn. You might also sigh when witnessing how cruel and insensitive we can be towards one another.
However, despite the seas of information we absorb daily, I discovered that once I peeled my eyes from the screen and simply gazed at the world outside, without being compelled to snap a quick pic, I realised once again how magnificent nature is.
I recall one special moment of the sort that occurred in Langebaan recently, at the Spar, as the sun was setting. As I returned from shopping, loaded my boot with grocery bags and prepared to drive home I saw something spectacular. A small flock of birds had begun swaying in the air in calming and hypnotic motions across an apricot sky.
As I stared in childlike delight I noted more birds were joining in the mystic dance. I witnessed other people exiting their cars to observe this phenomenon, some trying to capture it with their phone cameras. This beautiful display was enough to induce me to do some research, and I learnt it is called a “murmuration”.
It takes place when hundreds, sometimes thousands, of starlings (bird species) fly in a swooping, intricately coordinated pattern. Such moments make me wonder why I neglect nature’s timeless magic. This magic occurs just outside my window. I should see the sheer beauty of a single day. It can be soothing and has earthing effects.
It’s watching the ocean waves crash onto the shore. They then softly retreat into the sea. It’s also being fascinated by a bird constructing a perfect nest on top of a branch. As the great William Wordsworth so eloquently put it: “Come forth into the light of things, let Nature be your teacher. Come forth, and bring with you a heart that watches and receives.”
