Peaceful Easy Feeling

We are the same creatures as five hundred years ago. The clothes are different, how we get from place to place has changed, but we are the same animals. The pace of life has accelerated: It started with automobiles and then computers and now with A.I. The amount of content available to us has gone from a teaspoon to a tsunami—

But we are the same creatures we were when the Pilgrims landed in the New World.

Or, for that matter, when the Roman Empire faded into the past.

How are we supposed to follow the frentic pace of modern life, so far removed from even a hundred years ago?

Spoiler alert: We cannot, not in the long term.

My perception is that more and more people are or will be searching for a more sustainably paced life.

We’re drowning in content, drowning in noise—with A.I. and deep fakes what is real anymore?

We’re expected to do the work of three people while struggling to keep up with inflation, keep a roof over our heads—

Struggling not to get overwhelmed.

The kicker is that people feel guilty for falling behind, they berate themselves for not keeping up on the laundry, the cleaning, those plans to get a better job.

No, you should not chide yourself, we are not built for the pace of modern life.

We are not built for the barrage of “information” coming at us, “information” we instictively doubt.

You should not feel adverse for wanting to step back, step away, search for things that are smaller, more “real,” verifiable.

You have a right to be sick of being a demographic, of being subjigated to more ads because the streaming services want even more profit.

You have a right to acknowledge the weight on your shoulders, the feelings of isolation, of uncertainty.

I understand your struggles because I share them. 

For a year I was blessed with the opportunity to step away from this modern world (which I wrote about in my book No Signal).

I lived a life where I didn’t set my alarm clock, where I didn’t have a schedule. 

My life was dictated by the weather, not payment schedules.

I watched birds instead of battling traffic. 

I was surrounded by deserts and wild rivers, not Wal Marts and gas stations.

But I had to come back.

Not a day goes by when I am not thinking, “This modern world is nuts, no wonder so many people lose their shit, no wonder so many die from heart disease, it’s no surprise people gobble anti anxiety/anti depression medication.”

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Why do we settle for this life?

Maybe we shouldn’t.

Maybe we should listen to our instincts, shake off all these toxic obligations.

Stop buying new cars, stop putting ourselves in debt for oversized houses that will be falling apart in twenty years.

Get back to buying second hand clothes, baking bread, growing food. Mending not replacing,

Make a point to run off to the wild, leaving behind our cell phones, tablets, and laptops, at least once a month.

We can get there, you and I, I believe that with all my heart—

We just need to reset things, determine what we really need, pare it all down to the bone.

It’s possible to get to a saner, more human paced life—I genuinely believe that...