Unplugged
This post was sparked by Padmini becoming disconnected from power and, no, I couldn't resist the pun. This is, of course, one of many ways we can be unplugged from so many sources and we are often encouraged to unplug from the internet, from social media, from the electronic wonderland in general.
While unplugging from the technosphere is a good thing to indeed do on occasion, sometimes it is well to consider what we've already unplugged. Some of the essentials are laid out in the above graphic, the 4 spheres of the earth. It is the human way after all to not fit into a habitat, but to create a habitat from raw materials, so it is not a surprise that this process might actually remove us from the nurturance of nature.
Don't get me wrong, we wouldn't be here and talking if this disconnection had not happened. We don't have fur and hide, so we can't survive unclothed in most wilderness. We are neither strong enough nor fast enough to win a head to head battle with most predators without using weapons. We can't fly without the use of gliders and airplanes or dive deep without the use of compressed air. Had we not used the one superior talent we have, the use of intellect to put distance and insulation between us and the natural spheres, we would in fact be extinct. Outside of our intellects, we are pretty lame!
So, back to the theme of the post, we were forced to unplug in some ways from raw natural existence. Unfortunately, our relative success in a short geological time has, along with the ability to self-reflect, led to hubris and abuse. We aren't nearly as unplugged from the 4 spheres as we like to pretend, nor should we actually want to be.
The earth has a great ability to humble us with raging storms, seismic upheavals, volcanic eruptions. Now the earth has gotten the attention of all but the most ignorant, of whom there are a number. The coronavirus reminds us that we are no where near as independent as we like to pretend. We are mortal creatures who will return our bodies to the elements of which they were formed.
It is well to unplug from some things in an effort to develop our spirits, but it is just as important to plug back in to the spheres that bring us health and peace.
I eagerly look forward to your posts on quite what you will be unplugging from and replugging into in the future.
ReplyDeleteSome better than others. If I could have pulled off what I initially tried, tying the coronavirus to the butterfly effect, it would have been much better. Unfortunately, I couldn't reconstruct the butterfly flapping wings in California to the generation of a monsoon in India with the full sequence. That overall setup would have been worthwhile.
DeleteIts all about balance - we need to unplug and recharge the batteries fron time to time and just ponder where we are, where we want to be and how we will get there
ReplyDeleteAgreed. What you said right there is more satisfying to me than the results of this post. See the reply to Ramana.
DeleteTwo years from now, I wonder what we would be thinking and saying about this unplugging from all the world...if we survive the pitfalls of existence, that is!!
ReplyDeleteI must say that in self-isolation my plugging in is becoming more acute...having signed in to Netflix! The Crown is thorny and Grace and Frankie are generating angst...so too much screen time as it were. Lovely post...i just impulsively picked the topic...The next one is ready in my mind... Influenced by Youtube ofcourse!