Boxed In
I was walking past Smallsteps room today - a room she was meant to be cleaning - and saw her sitting in a drawer, playing with her toys. When she saw me, she poked her head up and said, "I reckon I could live in here".
In some parts of the world, that might be commonplace.
One of the "problems" with having a global view of the world these days, is seeing and hearing about how other people live their lives, and the challenges they face. I remember when I was seventeen and ill and a doctor told me I might not make it, and then listening to my friends complain about their parents not giving them the car for the weekend, or a curfew time. But, now we see this at a global level, where for instance I had a hard day cleaning out our garage, which was a lot of work, but at the same time, we have a garage.
While we can only ever live our own experience, there seems to be a lot of pressure these days to hide away anything that might make others feel bad about themselves. I see these various headlines in Australia singling out some influencer for showing off the house they just bought, and getting all the negative comments about how "it must be nice to afford" and "this is tasteless, we are in a housing crisis". Those influencers make money from people who probably should be spending less time on social media, and more time at work.
I feel like society has become far less supportive of those who might succeed, and far more bitter. Maybe it is because we are surrounded by cherry-picked success, and don't spend as much time in reality, that it seems like everyone is succeeding in life, but us. One of my colleagues was saying the other day that he gets jealous when he sees people on his social feeds doing all these great things, and says "how can they afford to do this all the time" - but it isn't the case, is it? Because what he is seeing is a curated selection of highlights from hundreds, if not thousands of people.
Even if you have 250 friends and they each only get a week off per year, it means that at any one time, there is on average five people on holiday. If they change their car every 5 years on average, someone is buying a new car every week. And, the algorithms favor these highlights too, which puts them in our eyeline daily.
Well, for those who waste their time on "social" media.
So anyway - I was cleaning out the garage today, because I need the space for wood from the trees we took down last week. Tomorrow, the neighbors are coming to help me cut it into smaller pieces and we are going to do some grilling and offer drinks and dessert on top. Plus, depending on if they want it, we will also give them some wood. I thought there would be a bit more, but regardless, I don't mind giving most of it away, because we get ours cheap from my wife's extended family anyway. It is just nice to spend some time together.
Inn a world where people are disconnecting from each other, spending more time on screens, isolating onto digital islands, it is nice to do things where people are being human, doing human things - like chopping some firewood. The other day, one of the neighbors was sounding a bit like me, talking about how AI is going to replace our jobs, but then what will we do? As I told him, I think that it is just going to be another social gap, like wealth, health, education, and opportunity. There will be the people who are socially healthy, and those who are isolated.
I can guess at who will be happier.
And while there is a lot of things out of our control in this life, we do all have the power to spend time building relationships with others. No one really need be lonely, do they? Yet it is it is so common around the world it is being labelled an epidemic. Surrounded by people, a thousand ways to connect - people are isolated.
Choosing to live in a self-styled box.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
My grandmother used to say that in hard times a neighbor helps more than a grandchild, although there are certainly good neighbors and bad neighbors, but you never know what you're going to get. an enemy or a good friend.
A lot of the issues with bad neighbors, seems to be around poor communication.
Indeed bro, It's so true that in our digital age, genuine human connections are more important than ever. Spending time with neighbors, sharing resources, and simply being present in the moment can make a huge difference in our well-being. Thanks for reminding me of this man
In a world that constantly tries to mold us, daring to be ourselves,more humans and getting out of the caves is a crazy and inadmissible act, Mr. Taraz.
I think that regardless of whether I succeed or fail, a life lived in nonconformity is better, than one lived trying to meet other's expectations.
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STOPWe all have the power to choose what to do with our lives. It is true that reality covers us and surpasses us, we see in disbelief how the balance is unbalanced in favor of the media, obtaining money with little effort, without professional preparation and training.
Social networks allow the transmission of messages whose exposure is mediated by appearance, falsity and lies.
Nowadays we have to be critical, and have confidence in the ability to discern, not let ourselves be fooled and bet on that margin that is still ours and is under the influence of our decisions.
Interesting topic, @tarazkp
Workless wealth. It is a lie.
These are decisive times. Times to test what we are. You sell yourself at the best price or you let your principles prevail. There are those who think that this is worthless. Life is energy and vibration. If the music you play is out of tune, the ears that listen to it reject it. Result: imbalance.
Seems neighbour relations have not been broken there. Here I see most of the people are preoccupied with their own problems and almost don't care that of others. I think that the main reasons of it are pandemic and the following economic crisis.
Not totally at least. However, this is a bit different as one of the neihgbors has been a friend of my wife for 35 years :D
Little Smallsteps lives in her unique childish world that has nothing to do with the adult world. These are beautiful moments that will never return as a teenager.
There is a powerful world to discover inside everyone, perhaps filling Johari's window could help.
Gathering firewood here in Canada in preparation for the onset of winter is in itself a social activity. Sometimes in the evening, we gather around a campfire and a few bags of marshmallows.
The aspects you mention, I conclude, are their cultural outlook. How big the world is, full of diversity of thought… Everyone in their own space, and among them those who live literally in a box. Everyone with their own life… Blessings.
Definitely won't. I don't remember doing this much myself - I had other things to worry about.
Do you use the splitter machines there?
The annual Logger Sports competition brings together hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators, specifically in the Canadian town of Kaslo, British Columbia. But this activity is widely practised in the territory, and the French colonies have gradually joined in.
Logging enthusiasts from Canada, the United States and New Zealand compete in multiple disciplines, including log rolling, trampoline cutting, open tree climbing and pole vaulting.
This spectacular competition has been traditionally organised by Kaslo lumberjack families for over 100 years.
The proceeds of the competition (firewood) are used by the different families to fill up their storage tanks in anticipation of the harsh winter. Axes, power saws and electric saws are used in the competition. The same families take part in the competition. Last year a new discipline was introduced with the participation of sculptors who gave free rein to their imagination.
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I stopped looking at traditional social media [Hive is technically still social media] a long time ago. It is as you said, the highlights of people's lives. While it is good to see my friends happy, it does make my life feel too boring in comparison. That is why I just talk to my friends via messenger most of the time these days. I can hear about their trip from them directly.
Yes it is, but I also put it in a different category to mainstream, as there are no algorithms :)
There used to be "slide nights" where people would actually meet to talk about a trip, show pictures - eat, have a glass of wine, talk about the world. We have taken out the richness of the conversation - which is worth a post ;)
I have a friend who’s an influencer and you really spoke the fact about them. The majority of them come online to pull one stunt or the other in a way that it will look entertaining and we’d want to keep watching their videos instead of facing our lives
Do they actually influence anyone?
Honestly, they influence people. Let’s just say that people like us don’t get moved. A lot of people get moved by those things
The society is actually picky these days and the sad part of it is that the society goes fur something they cannot benefit from. It’s funny how some people could spend all their data watching a celebrity instead of them to be making money online.
Well, a celebrity’s life may be interesting but trust me, you gotta boost your life too…
That’s where we’ve found ourselves
Is a celebrity's life interesting, or is it their publicist that makes it so?
It’s the publicity though
I hope that the AI in our androids will allow us to cut wood and make barbecues in the future.
We just have to make it seem that it isn't worth our overlord's time.
Dear @tarazkp !
Miss Smallsteps seems to become more like you as she grows up! I think she is different from your wife!😄
I totally agree with you Sir @tarazkp It is nice and better to do things where people are being human, doing human things than spending more time on screens and isolating onto digital islands.
100%. I read an article about a journalist who fell in love with his AI (yes, he was aware how "Her" that was) the other day and it was frightening. Not the "rise of AI", rather the decline of human interaction. Dating seems to me hard enough in this generation already without the interference of robots. Why on Earth would anyone face the disappointment and danger of meeting someone new for the first time, when they can just stay in a chat to the voice in their phone or wherever?
Scary times.
Thankfully, it's all within our control, as you point out. We can decide to put away the screen or to prioritize face-to-face real interactions over digital ones. Or not. :) Good on you for cleaning the garage!