When I first heard that the house I would be living in at Camphill would have wi-fi access, I was so relieved, because I was scared to be isolated from the outside world and glad to have a technological link to the people I had moved away from. But after being here for two weeks, I have noticed a strange routine coming about my life, a routine that did not rely on technology or social media to facilitate it. It didn't require me to sit and stare at a screen for 9 hours or feel so buzzed or emotionally detached from the people around me. All the things I have been doing in the past two weeks: climbing to the top of the tree to reach the highest apple, swing dancing, sitting with the people of my house and drinking crisp cider on hot afternoons, walking home in the middle of the night with only the light of the moon to guide us: these were all things that in all likelihood, I would have taken pictures of and instead of fully allowing myself to enjoy these experiences, would have spent a good while thinking of a caption for the Instagram picture. But having limited wi-fi access and being detached from social media has meant that I have been able to fully engage with the people I'm living with, with the people who are around me, physically. Don't get me wrong: there are people I wish were here and sometimes find myself wanting to call my best friend before realizing that it's 3 a.m. where she is. And I'm so grateful that I'm able to use the power of e-mail and Whatsapp to still be in touch with people across the world. But the point is, that for the first time in a long time, I'm having experiences for which I don't feel the requirement to document every picture-worthy moment. And even greater than the connections with the people around me, I feel a greater connection to myself. I have never felt a greater sense of self than I do now, a recognition of thoughts and emotions, an increasing ability to think creatively, to be open-minded, to trust quickly, to love freely. It has opened so many doors, doors that perhaps existed before but I was blinded by the screens in front of me to see.
Thanks to this, I've been giving the whole concept of social media some thought. It has made me fully understand that our personalities cannot depend on our Facebook profiles and we cannot gauge how loved we are by the number of likes our Instagram pictures get. It's fascinating to witness the way we interact on social media - we will document nights out with friends, take selfies when we're having great hair days, find a witty caption for the souffle that turned out so perfectly. And this is perfectly fine - what is not fine is the illusion that this gives us, that other people's lives are perfect. Because nobody documents the day they spent the evening in bed, worrying about why they weren't invited, the days when their hair was frizzy and sticking up in all the wrong places, the day their souffle burned and they spent the whole afternoon cleaning ash out of the oven. I'm coming to embrace the fact that we are all full of flaws, and the more we strive to appear to be perfect, the more unhappy we will be. The sooner I accept and fall in love with my own flaws, the more I will fall in love with the world around me. And so, I ask of you one thing - just for one day, leave your phone at home. Go outside, experience the area you live in, watch how the colors of the sky change, from cornflower blue to light pink to crimson. Notice that even when the sky appears to be pitch black, there are hints of midnight blue if you look close enough. Look at the stars and make up names for them in your head. Ask the people around you with genuine interest and concern, how they are doing. Attend that dance class you've always wanted to but have never found the time for. There is so much around us to be appreciative of, such rich things to experience, wherever we are in the world, but our visions are clouded by our constant need to check our phones, our experiences are interrupted by scrolling through our Facebook feed.
In conclusion, I have spent enough time away from social media that I don't miss it that much. I'm glad to have contact with people who are not here, but I'm freeing myself up more and more to have fully real, flawed but rich experiences.
I watched an interesting video that was in close conjunction with these thoughts that I've had, and you could go watch it if you'd like, but you could also turn your laptop off and have a conversation with somebody in the room with you right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY
