More and more I realise that my life takes place in different realities: Nature, Society and the Digital Realm. This is a quick exploration of these different realities.
I had a pretty long and deep work-session this morning. I spend a lot of time, effort and energy working on the laptop. After that, I went to nature and moved for an hour. Now I’m standing here, bathed in sunlight, hearing birds chirp and the wind whistling through the trees and I can’t help but feel that I have stepped from one reality into another.
There are three different realities that I can spot and they are quite different from each other.
In every aspect.
The Nature-Reality
The first and most basic reality is the one I’m currently in:
The reality of nature.
It’s the reality you find yourself in when you simply spend time in nature. After a while you will feel what I mean. As with all realities, I find that there’s a certain entity behind this reality. Let’s call this a god. The god of nature.
The god of nature is slow and demands nothing from you. It is very calm and peaceful. It doesn’t assert control over anything and let’s things evolve freely. When you move through this realm you will feel its gentle touch, it’s calming energy and know that nothing is expected of you in return.
The Society-Reality
Then there’s a second reality, which we’re all used to:
The reality of society.
It’s a reality of cities, of work, of the hustle and the bustle of the crowds. Of cars and machines, of time and money. Of achieving goals and things that have a purpose. If I walk through a city, I feel that there is another kind of god behind all of it. The god of society.
The god of society is very strict. It loves efficiency and has little patience for things that don’t have a purpose. It wants to grow, achieve, organise and structure. But most of all it wants to control. When you move through this reality, you will feel it’s rush, it’s promise of security and you know that something is expected of you if you want to continue being a welcome part.
The Digital-Reality
Lately I realise more and more, that there is a third reality:
The digital reality.
It seems to be the complete opposite of the reality of nature and its god is cruel. Where the god of nature wants nothing and loves you fully in return, this digital god wants everything and in return loves you not one bit.
This digital God rules its realm absolutely and with no patience for anything. It wants everything and it wants everything now. It gives back nothing and does not love you. And whatever you do and achieve in the digital realm, the digital god demands more.
In natures realm you can simply be and still get warm sunshine in return. In the digital realm you can do whatever you want, but any return you get will be a hollow one. All the badges, likes, hearts and followers feel ultimately cold. Because there is nevery any love behind them but an algorythmn. No nourishment but numbers. No inner peace but nervous addiction.
Navigating these Realities
Navigating these realities can be difficult. You can get lost in any of them. But seeing that they exist seems to be important. Especially since we move more and more towards a fully digital reality. I have a feeling that the more you move your life over into the digital gods domain, the harder it becomes to be a healthy human being.
So take a moment check in what reality you are currently in.
Can you see how different your life feels when you lose yourself in one of them?
Personally I can enjoy an value them all.
But in moderation. Always in moderation.
Because getting lost in either of them quickly feels unhealthy.
That is probably not really true for the reality of nature. And yet… the idea of running away from everything and hiding in a secluded spot in nature, never to be found again, also does not feel fully right.
Although it is certainly true that I would enjoy that for a while.