I often get criticized because I don’t have my cell phone on me 24/7. They can leave a message if it’s important! I simply don’t feel the need to be tethered to a device and available to anyone and everyone every minute of the day. I also don’t feel the need to take photos of every aspect of my day for all to see on FB! Nobody really cares what I had to eat at that restaurant or if I went to Walmart! Lol!
My favorite time to sit with Nature is early morning when the sun is just rising and the birds are waking and beginning their search for breakfast. It’s a spirit filled time where I feel close and connected to the Earth Mother and to the wildlife that I share my garden space with. I don’t know if I spend to much time or less time on FB. I try to keep a healthy balance. I started my own Group Page because of the toxic environment on FB. So far it’s been a pleasure and because it’s tightly controlled hasn’t presented any problems. Even though, I don’t spend an awful lot of time with it. I prefer to focus on tangible experiences rather than online experiences.
It’s a dangerous thing to get sucked into a virtual world of what may or may not be genuine. Not that real friendships can’t be made through FB. I don’t do other social media unless this counts as one. I have met a select few people who I have feelings of deep connection to and we have been true friends, meeting through FB, for many years. We support each other through difficult times as well as great times on and off of FB.
I agree though, when it begins to take quality time away from your daily life then it’s time to back away and set healthy boundaries. Nothing is more heartbreaking than to see someone glued to their phone when they should be interacting with their children, family members and friends. I saw it when I was teaching and the parent would come to pick up their child but were so glued to the phone that they barely even acknowledged their child and I’v seen it in restaurants where they were so obsessed with the phone that they could have been across the table from a random stranger instead of their friend/ family/ lover.
I enjoyed your perspective and the pics of your beautiful land. I have fallen off the social media train and quite like it. Sometimes I feel the fleeting urge to get back on. I’ve noticed I also like to spend time hiking alone so I can deeply connect with nature. I do take so many pictures but keep them to myself. When I’m hiking with friends I feel I’m missing a lot of nature’s communication so I try to balance the two lately. Times are changing or maybe returning.
I love your insight that maybe times are returning. I’ve also felt that. I hope it’s true! Solitude is often the key to deep communication with nature. To listen deeply takes our full attention, mind, soul and body. There’s also something very primary, ancient or fundamental about being in nature alone. It’s a very different experience than being with others. It’s then I think we remember.
Since retiring, I have realized how important my moments with Nature are to me and to all around me. Thank you for putting my thoughts and feelings into such beautiful and powerful language.
This resonated deeply with me. I forget my cell sometimes when hiking. Then I cannot "carry you with me". So I live in the moment. I memorize everything. About how it feels. How it sounds. How it smell. The whole experience. Then I can pull it up. Sometimes on day or nights when I need that particular joy and peace. I was walking Sasha the other day through a park that borders on the most lovely community garden in Woodstock, Ontario. I rarely see anyone in the park. I have only seen a mother and her child on the swings. The child was playing while the mother sat on one swing, thoroughly engrossed in her cell. And I thought why bring your child to a park when you do not engage with him or her? People need to get out into nature. A free form of therapy especially for the chaotic world we live in. People are like ants: they scurry with purpose, here and there and there. I doubt ants stop to survey the beauty surrounding them. That is a pity. Thank you for your thought-provoking posting. Peace and joy.
I sometimes wonder if we unconsciously “forget our phones” on purpose when our deeper wisdom knows what we need is to unplug from the frantic web of technology and online presence and reset our overwhelmed nervous systems to regain “the peace of wild things” as Wendell Berry says.
Timely and potent thoughts, Jan. I had a conversation, recently, about whether taking photos somehow robs the subject of autonomy, and steals the magic from the moment. As someone who was drawn to photography long before social media existed, I felt myself pushing back against that notion but understood the importance of needing to more fully consider what was taking place in that exchange. Simultaneously, I've been thinking about how, despite all the ways we are so-called connected, we are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Your piece gets to the heart of that. Social media is a false, unfulfilling relationship. True connection is more about experiencing ourselves as part of the beauty of nature than it is about getting a "vote" of approval from someone on the other side of a screen. Thanks for bringing all of this to my attention today. Also, your garden -- with all of its "quiet places" is spectacular!
One of the things I like to do is have designated times when I am photographing or nature journaling and other times when I set both an intention and a boundary to just be in nature. The quiet times, just being with the aliveness, then informs my creative endeavors making them richer with more depth and actual experience for their foundation. There’s room for everything. I totally agree about social media, the connections are illusions for the most part and there’s nothing more damaging than thinking something is real and authentic when it’s not. So we continue to find ways to be human in this brave new works.
Thank you for weaving so many insights about our near past and today. I love your photographs especially the last one. The composition of high contras in dark and light, soft and hard is enough to send me joy and peace. At the same time, I connect with your pointing your finger to just sit. And I did that two days ago in my garden, still enough to watch a bright red cardinal on the ground tossing bits of mulch up into the air. Magic.
Loved this so much. I totally get what you mean, I like to keep mine and nature's relationship seperate from social media. Clandestine even. I'd like to share the benefits of being in nature and sharing its beauty and strength but I often get lost (in a good way) in the moment.
I love your use of the word clandestine. Such a wonderful word! Better than secret, covert, occult or even separate or hidden. It’s a word with the sparkle and mystery befitting our deepest relationship with nature.
I often get criticized because I don’t have my cell phone on me 24/7. They can leave a message if it’s important! I simply don’t feel the need to be tethered to a device and available to anyone and everyone every minute of the day. I also don’t feel the need to take photos of every aspect of my day for all to see on FB! Nobody really cares what I had to eat at that restaurant or if I went to Walmart! Lol!
My favorite time to sit with Nature is early morning when the sun is just rising and the birds are waking and beginning their search for breakfast. It’s a spirit filled time where I feel close and connected to the Earth Mother and to the wildlife that I share my garden space with. I don’t know if I spend to much time or less time on FB. I try to keep a healthy balance. I started my own Group Page because of the toxic environment on FB. So far it’s been a pleasure and because it’s tightly controlled hasn’t presented any problems. Even though, I don’t spend an awful lot of time with it. I prefer to focus on tangible experiences rather than online experiences.
It’s a dangerous thing to get sucked into a virtual world of what may or may not be genuine. Not that real friendships can’t be made through FB. I don’t do other social media unless this counts as one. I have met a select few people who I have feelings of deep connection to and we have been true friends, meeting through FB, for many years. We support each other through difficult times as well as great times on and off of FB.
I agree though, when it begins to take quality time away from your daily life then it’s time to back away and set healthy boundaries. Nothing is more heartbreaking than to see someone glued to their phone when they should be interacting with their children, family members and friends. I saw it when I was teaching and the parent would come to pick up their child but were so glued to the phone that they barely even acknowledged their child and I’v seen it in restaurants where they were so obsessed with the phone that they could have been across the table from a random stranger instead of their friend/ family/ lover.
No. I am not a fan of technology. And I am getting older. So I DO forget it. LOL.
I enjoyed your perspective and the pics of your beautiful land. I have fallen off the social media train and quite like it. Sometimes I feel the fleeting urge to get back on. I’ve noticed I also like to spend time hiking alone so I can deeply connect with nature. I do take so many pictures but keep them to myself. When I’m hiking with friends I feel I’m missing a lot of nature’s communication so I try to balance the two lately. Times are changing or maybe returning.
I love your insight that maybe times are returning. I’ve also felt that. I hope it’s true! Solitude is often the key to deep communication with nature. To listen deeply takes our full attention, mind, soul and body. There’s also something very primary, ancient or fundamental about being in nature alone. It’s a very different experience than being with others. It’s then I think we remember.
How well thought out and eloquently written. Thanks, I enjoyed reading this.
Thanks for reading and taking a moment to connect and comment.🙏
Since retiring, I have realized how important my moments with Nature are to me and to all around me. Thank you for putting my thoughts and feelings into such beautiful and powerful language.
So glad to hear that you are finding time to slow down and connect. May you have many such moments.
This resonated deeply with me. I forget my cell sometimes when hiking. Then I cannot "carry you with me". So I live in the moment. I memorize everything. About how it feels. How it sounds. How it smell. The whole experience. Then I can pull it up. Sometimes on day or nights when I need that particular joy and peace. I was walking Sasha the other day through a park that borders on the most lovely community garden in Woodstock, Ontario. I rarely see anyone in the park. I have only seen a mother and her child on the swings. The child was playing while the mother sat on one swing, thoroughly engrossed in her cell. And I thought why bring your child to a park when you do not engage with him or her? People need to get out into nature. A free form of therapy especially for the chaotic world we live in. People are like ants: they scurry with purpose, here and there and there. I doubt ants stop to survey the beauty surrounding them. That is a pity. Thank you for your thought-provoking posting. Peace and joy.
I sometimes wonder if we unconsciously “forget our phones” on purpose when our deeper wisdom knows what we need is to unplug from the frantic web of technology and online presence and reset our overwhelmed nervous systems to regain “the peace of wild things” as Wendell Berry says.
Thank You and George for the gentle reminder ,the gift of the present moment is precious,
George Carlin, the gift that keeps on giving 😅
Timely and potent thoughts, Jan. I had a conversation, recently, about whether taking photos somehow robs the subject of autonomy, and steals the magic from the moment. As someone who was drawn to photography long before social media existed, I felt myself pushing back against that notion but understood the importance of needing to more fully consider what was taking place in that exchange. Simultaneously, I've been thinking about how, despite all the ways we are so-called connected, we are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Your piece gets to the heart of that. Social media is a false, unfulfilling relationship. True connection is more about experiencing ourselves as part of the beauty of nature than it is about getting a "vote" of approval from someone on the other side of a screen. Thanks for bringing all of this to my attention today. Also, your garden -- with all of its "quiet places" is spectacular!
One of the things I like to do is have designated times when I am photographing or nature journaling and other times when I set both an intention and a boundary to just be in nature. The quiet times, just being with the aliveness, then informs my creative endeavors making them richer with more depth and actual experience for their foundation. There’s room for everything. I totally agree about social media, the connections are illusions for the most part and there’s nothing more damaging than thinking something is real and authentic when it’s not. So we continue to find ways to be human in this brave new works.
Thank you for weaving so many insights about our near past and today. I love your photographs especially the last one. The composition of high contras in dark and light, soft and hard is enough to send me joy and peace. At the same time, I connect with your pointing your finger to just sit. And I did that two days ago in my garden, still enough to watch a bright red cardinal on the ground tossing bits of mulch up into the air. Magic.
What a joy to watch a cardinal tossing mulch, looking for a meal no doubt!
Loved this so much. I totally get what you mean, I like to keep mine and nature's relationship seperate from social media. Clandestine even. I'd like to share the benefits of being in nature and sharing its beauty and strength but I often get lost (in a good way) in the moment.
I love your use of the word clandestine. Such a wonderful word! Better than secret, covert, occult or even separate or hidden. It’s a word with the sparkle and mystery befitting our deepest relationship with nature.