An Empty Swing Not AI Generated
First i trust everyone is safe. Some say we are in the coming Golden Age, the Satya Yuga, while we are emerging from the Kali Yuga, the final, darkest, and shortest of the four cosmic ages (yugas) in Hindu cosmology, often characterized by moral decline, ignorance, and spiritual disconnection. When this era ends, it will usher in a new cycle of spiritual enlightenment, known as the Satya Yuga. Some say we are in the End Of Times. Some say We are where We are.
This past month around Maytime its much like December when everyone is running around with “not enough time”. “Posts” vary from kindergarten graduations to college graduations to marriages. For those congratulations.
Ever wonder why all of a sudden we no longer have time? Maybe its because what is stealing the time is held in your hand or unfolded in front of you.
A couple of years ago, i was standing in my yard, the drenching humidity and salty breeze wrapped around me like a blanket and a deep whisper from the Charleston Harbor, watching the “skurfer swing” move back and forth in the breeze with my beloved oak tree moss. With each sway, i realized i was envisioning one of my progeny in the swing, yet they were not there, nor are they here; they are elsewhere right now doing what i call “The Thang.”
With each sway, time seemed to wipe away the evidence that i was once the center for what i call The Chaos Engine and for my two girls and my boy, their little worlds revolving around my crazy stories or antics.
The grass will always grow back. Let’em dig.
~ Sage advice for dogs or children
In recent events i was waiting for yet another plane to board. I was looking at all the people and was reminded of a blog I wrote some time ago, “Look Up And Down And All Around!“
My observation is that IT has worsened. IT refers to the amount of time people spend looking at a screen. As i say, “Things usually get worse before they get worse,” and that is not a nihilist viewpoint but an objective one. My take is that everything that happens is good at some level, but the amount of work it takes to see the good varies with the purview. For instance, the new media rule is 3 seconds. In the digital landscape, consumers and swipers operate on a “three-second rule. The attention span has been reduced to a 3-second hook.
It is called the Swipe/Scroll Reflex: The brain has been rewired for instantaneous digital gratification. If a video or webpage doesn’t provide immediate entertainment, curiosity, or value, it gets swiped away without a second thought.
Heard of Artificial Intelligence? We can now seemingly create complete archetypes and digital twins of those we “love” or think we love. Given the amount of time we spend looking at glass, screens, and LEDS glowing and the ping of a dopamine hit from text, it seems to me most would now prefer the digital facade. 3-second video of whatever, whenever. 3 Second chips of a 31,536,000-second year of 2.367e+9 in 75 years on earth – YOU have plenty of swipes!
Call me old-fashioned, but i prefer what I believe to be the “Real Thing”. The analog, if you will.
The Real Thing – The touch and smell of YOUR child, YOUR significant other, YOUR lover, YOUR friends, YOUR pet, YOUR environment.
Try this: Find a silent place. Set a timer on your favorite mind-sucking device for just five minutes and turn off all the notifications (if you can…). Most are too self-absorbed or self-conscious to try this…
Find something you love the smell of, sit there in silence, eyes shut, and listen, smell, and deeply inhale. What happened?
In the dark of night
By my side
In the dark of night
By my side
I wish you were
I wish you were~ By My Side, INXS
Which had me thinking, listening to those you truly love, those you cherish, because ultimately they save you time, not take it, are those you want around you the most. However, you and them are sitting there with their faces buried in a screen. Even IF they aren’t, it’s sitting there on the table.
How does that make YOU feel when someone can’t put their phone or screen away?
It’s the new smoking, and it’s much more dangerous, more insidious. Where hath the time gone?
When i take you in my arms gathered forever. Sometimes it feels like a dream.
~ The Space Between – Alice Bowman
Because what if one day IT is truly just a perfect video screen rendering of your loved one that acts and talks to you like the real thing, and all you have is that digital twin? Is this better? Worse? No comment because you are afraid to show your emotions?
Clearly, it’s not the same as smelling your dog’s ear or that first kiss or touch that blew your mind.
i can hear the acc/e folks (look it up) – Yes, but what if we can simulate it all, and what if we are in a simulation?
NOTE: Trust me oh dear reader your “talking” to someone who first worked in “virtual reality” in 1993 and digital audio in 1986. I read Bostrom’s book when it first came out and have spent hours studying the math. i ws there when most of this stuff was invented.
Screen Window Rain Non AI Generated
Honestly, i don’t want to know if we are.
For me, there was a time when I remember rushing everything from bedtime stories, to half looking at their drawings to “multi-tasking” with my friends, thinking the days were endless. Now, I’d give anything for one more sticky LEGO-strewn floor, a completely wrecked couch with cookie crumbs, a completely scratched up hardwood floor from dog paws or even a clogged toilet.
As of late i still make tea and but i dont go out on a dock, though now i most always forget to drink the second mason jar full of tea much akin to habits clinging like sea mist.
For now, it’s just the hum of the fridge and the echo of silence i chase with the HVAC drone or the fan’s whir, anything to drown out the quiet that’s settled in like an uninvited guest.
Satellite’s gone
Way up to Mars
Soon it will be filled
With parking cars.~ Satelite of Love – Lou Reed
If you’re neck-deep drowning in the mess of life, raising your own, walking that new puppy, or taking care of an elderly loved one – don’t get frustrated – take a breath – don’t wish it gone. Embrace The Chaos and even increase the Entropy. Above all, tell that person, dog, or tree truly how you feel. If you have never talked to a pet or tree your missing out….
And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home son
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, Dad
We’re gonna have a good time then~ Cats In The Cradle – Harry Chapin
One day, you’ll stare at a blank wall, out a window, or an empty swing and realize that “trouble” was the map of a life fully needed, and you’d trade the world for just one more mark, stain, or yell.
Don’t paint over the memories.
Remember, the days are long and the years are short.
Until Then,
#iwishyouwater <- Nathan Florence not caring if it’s a simulation. Fast forward to 17:02 and watch. #nearlifeexperience. If i had to go it all over again, this would be it.
Ted ℂ. Tanner Jr. (@tctjr) / X
MUZAK TO BLOG by: Different songs.
Notes:
[0] The hyphens are mine. i hate that the stochastic parrots put hyphens in generated content now.