May 25, 2020 – Memorial Day Weekend
It’s been an intense work week for me and I promised myself that I will detach from work over the long weekend and I’ve been true to my promise. I also promised myself that I will try to practice the ‘art of doing nothing’ as a treat for me and my psyche during this 3-day weekend.
So far, it’s been working. I have also been distancing myself from my e-gadgets until now. It’s important to take a break from reality once in a while to restore one’s sanity. We can’t go anywhere but stay local and we just need to find creative ways to while away the extra time in our hands. For those reading this who have young kids, that may mean finding activities to burn those frantic energy or if you have teenagers, ways to wean them off their mobile gadgets.
It’s been 68 days and it fascinates me to note how people’s behavior towards CoVid19 is evolving. I hear about churches wanting to congregate, of folks who couldn’t wait to visit their beauty salons for a haircut or get their nails done, of people crowding in beachside boardwalks or people swimming and drinking shoulder to shoulder in Lake Ozark. What motivates these people and what are their objectives? Have they heard of the news in Butte County where a pastor, against the advise of the State, decided to hold service on Mother’s Day and now 180 people have been infected? Have they read about a beauty salon worker in Missouri who went to work anyway knowing she is a carrier and ended up exposing around 90 people to CoVid19? I could go on and on. How have we become so dumb and reckless or maybe choosing to be reckless and selfish? If the data and the actual results are not getting into people’s consciousness, is it because they chose not to process the data or chose not to care where the chips fall?
Source: CNN web
I am currently reading Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and one of his arguments in the book on artificial intelligence (AI) and natural stupidity reminds me of what I’m observing from recent events. More than 2 billion people are Facebook users and everyday AI bots used by Facebook mine those data in various esoteric ways – how you feel, your fears, your biases, cravings, etc – and sold and used in ways you haven’t even had the time to imagine possible. We are becoming docile and less agile, less curious and less resourceful by virtue of having access to high speed internet connections and relying more on the efficiency of Big Data algorithms to make decisions for us! If your friends and “community” on Facebook are saying that CoVdi19 is a hoax, then you must believe it too because you trust your friends and community, right? Be careful, one day you’ll find yourself irrelevant because you decided to let AI do the thinking for you!
My cat, Tara, may be the smarter one!
Have you noticed that you can’t seem to find your way without Google Map or Waze or can’t decide what to eat without consulting Yelp or feel down when only 5 of your friends so far liked your post on social media? Do me a favor – take a break from the World Wide Web every now and then and get your consciousness back. You will find that not only will you like yourself better, you’ll be more curious, more alert and best of all, happier.
Five things to remind yourself:
- Be mindful via meditation
- Be in the moment by taking e-breaks
- Be curious by asking why and how and not taking things at face value
- Be humble by acknowledging what you don’t know
- Be empathetic by placing yourself in other people’s shoes. Asking what if…
Summer is here. Be outdoors and enjoy it safely!
