JOURNAL

Basel, October 2016.

Often I feel like the majority of my time spent interacting with things and people is through a computer.

I do get out. I do see people outside in the world and socialize. But left to my own devices, my first instinct is to go to a computer. I'd rather not do this. I'd rather go for a book, or decide to go for a walk outside, or draw something, or write something.

Why? Because stagnation is real. To visit the same websites over and over again is to tread over the same ground and dig out deeper and deeper ruts and grooves in what my mind thinks is rewarding or worth doing. Also, I feel like all I do is consume. Writing this is already better than just reading the news or another think piece for the 5th time today. I read and learn a lot, but it's all akin to eating candy. I feel I forget almost all of it by the end of the day. Browsing the Internet is like living life on auto-pilot. It's time to take control again and do something different.

I previously had made a conscious effort to stop opening up the news and email and reddit immediately when I got home. But I found that as soon as I was not paying attention, or extra tired one day, or unfocused-- the old habit picked back up and I spent an hour on useless websites. And I found that tiredness happens often!

This is a disease of the generation. This is our television addiction that will follow us into adulthood. If I'm not careful I'll end up spending all my time in front of the computer.

I need to read more books and then write down what I thought about them. I need to clean the house and make it into a space I enjoy coming back home to. I need to stretch more because I'm already a fossilized body stuck in my chair for hours on a day. I need to draw and photograph things in order to see something beyond the 13 inch screen in front of me.

Of course the Internet is wonderful, practical and necessary, and I will continue to use it. After all, I will be updating this website (hopefully) frequently. But it's not everything. I don't think the things I listed before are inherently too difficult to do, but they are not the first thing my brain jumps to when I have a free moment. My first instinct should be to do one of those things. I guess I can just keep on trying.