So much truth in this piece! Thanks Hadden for reminding us that , although local action is “far from glamorous and won’t make you famous”, it is where we are called to act. Also find it quite special that you live in a town that Dickens referred to as the "dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the earth". I wonder what experience he must have had there to come up with such a description....
Will save this piece to my library of important essays!
Thanks Ruth, every time I read that quote from Dickens it makes me chuckle (and I dread to think what he would write about the city now!). I am now curious to as to what urged him to write a pretty blunt and extreme statement.
Thanks Eric, you are the second reader to have a connection with Chelmsford - perhaps this small city is more renowned than I thought!
I love that line "if you sit still enough, you can hear the sun move" - I was doing some poetry just now and thought of how the robin sings the dawn into motion every morning - even in the dead of winter. It is as if the sun responds to its song.
Wow, I resonate with this so much! One aspect that strikes me about the relative unimportance of news from from far away is its lack of accuracy. If you know your own area and culture and community really well, you know how inaccurate news about it can be! “Well they didn't mention this other thing,” and “it's actually so much more complicated than that,” and “well that wasn't very charitable” are always going through your mind. And to think how true that must be ablout other places!
When we think too big, we're liable to become distraught at the futility I think. We just can't change the world, but we can definitely change our home. And our homes are in such great need that we have no need to feel bad about focusing on it instead of some great evil far away.
I saved this post, and I think I'll return to it. So many helpful thoughts.
"When we think too big, we're liable to become distraught at the futility I think. We just can't change the world, but we can definitely change our home. And our homes are in such great need that we have no need to feel bad about focusing on it instead of some great evil far away."
Indeed! This reminds me of that quote from Illich that formed the bulk of an essay I recently wrote on care - (paraphrase) you can only care for something if you know it intimately.
Also, I really appreciate the footnote reminding us of environmental leakage. I'm new to that term, but it's such an important thing to keep in mind whatever we call it. I think it's deserving of posts of its own!
That is a great idea Wayne! You are right, it is such an important topic to consider especially when we are confronted with a plethora of sustainability accolades or claims coming from the food industry. When you lookout the whole complex picture it becomes plain that many of these claims do not hold up - but the consumer is by and large ignorant of this.
what a great piece to come across the day before i move from London to Chelmsford! a temporary move as i keep looking for somewhere to stay in London (rental market, UGH) but my partner is from Chelmsford and I've grown kind of fond of it. as an Aberdonian I'm a far stretch from home but have even come to appreciate my hometown more and daydream about going back and starting up some sort of arts initiative for young people there...
I really appreciate this piece of writing. I love Wendell and Kingsnorth and have been reading both quite recently. They're always so sharp.
My suburb isn't too glamorous either but this moves me to see it not as a place where I'll eventually move away from, but as the place I am now. I should know my 15 miles and my 15 miles should know me.
You've given me a kind nudge in the right direction and I'm thankful for it. I'll be passing it on to others.
Thanks Will, this is heartening and encouraging to hear.
Berry and Kingsnorth have both influenced me greatly. Almost every time I read them I come away with some new insight that helps me to navigate the maze of modernity.
This was a good read my friend. Often times our "concern" over global issues can make us feel powerless to affect any real change. This refocusing on the local reminds us (me) that there is a lot of good that can be done on the local level. At the end of the day any systemic national or global issue is a combination of many local issues.
Its funny to read your musings on Chelmsford, because most Americans would view your town as decidedly quaint rather than boring. Living in a terribly homogenous American suburb means that I envy any amount of historic architecture, even Chelmsford's.
Thats a good corrective, Jackson, I am indeed blessed by some old buildings in Chelmsford and too easily forget this! (just to clarify - the picture I chose for this piece is not of Chelmsford - the village in this picture is absolute delightful)
What you say here is key: "At the end of the day any systemic national or global issue is a combination of many local issues." - but is so often neglected by those in power or those trying to effect positive change.
Thanks for this, Hadden. You help us to consider the importance and value of where we are and what we have now. Being thankful, taking small but meaningful steps to improve our locality, and seeking to live a fruitful, "ripe" life where we stand are acts of resistance to the voices that urge us to ever-increasing dissatisfaction or place demands on us that can only crush us in the long term.
Thanks Chris, I am glad you highlighted the "ripe life" part. Ever since reading this in Wendell Berry's essay Quantity Versus Form, I have not stopped thinking abut the "ripe life" and how important this is to guide one's life away from the paths of triviality and vice. For the Christian, the ripe life is the life faithfully run to its completion doing the work our Lord has for us to do - which will mostly be work in our local area and local church. It is an encouraging and liberating thought.
This essay resonates in every part of my being. Yes, yes, yes. These issues are what compelled me to start a Substack and start looking for answers.
My biggest question is: how do I actually get involved locally? I think my naivete is showing here, but I feel totally at a loss on how to take concrete action; perhaps it's part of my generation...of being more digitally connected than physically.
I am young too, and the hinderances to local action are something I feel keenly. I must also say it is one of the reasons I am actually moving away from my local area (as I hinted I might in the essay) as I have found my home city has become almost impossible to form local community in (and house prices are so expensive). We are moving to a rural area where the community is thicker and beauty more apparent.
But, as to some ideas, I think joining local clubs and societies is one thing (especially those which are multi-generational in make up) And then if you are part of a church trying to do events for the community is another option. Our church does two events each month: sit-and-knit and poetry in the pub in a local pub as a regular community presence. Other churches have done litter picks, organised community fun days etc with good success.
But, fostering good community is long and hard work and not without pain, frustration, and disappointment. This is a message I need to preach to myself.
Amen to that. I confess being jealous of your move to a more rural area — I'm working towards that, but can't quite make the leap yet for a number of reasons. For now, I must do the hard work you speak of, probably...getting more involved in my church. I've failed on that front, to be sure.
I discovered your writing today. Beautiful and thought provoking. My mother's family all hail from Chelmsford and Galleywood. I spent many happy hours on Wood Farm and Galleywood Common as a child, and my uncle has a long-standing voluntary role at Chelmsford Cathedral. Looking forward to discovering more of your work.
Excellent piece. Why indeed are we exhorted to change the world, when there is so much to be done in our local areas? It's sad to see the decline of local newspapers (though there are some excellent hyperlocal online media resources)
THIS IS SUCH A POETICALLY DECADENT AND INTELLECTUALLY RICH PIECE. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hadden. God Bless you!
THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO BE HAD AND HELD.
The specific threads that struck chords of resonance:
Where you are is where you are. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Perhaps too simple, too obvious — or to put it bluntly — it’s blatantly obvious, isn’t it? But oh, how often we ignore that which is plain, simple, and familiar. When coupled with the passing of years, familiarity has the unfortunate habit of devolving into over-familiarity. This state of mind predictably gives rise to ignorance and the ‘invisibilising’ of that which is right in front of us — that which is obvious and should be well-known. And one of the many forgotten ‘right in front of us truths’ is the fact that where we are is really where we are — it is our home, our community, our place. Not over ‘there’, where the pastures may well be greener or life more exciting — but here in this specific place with these specific people, these unique buildings and streets, and these precious habitats and communities of species.
This is where we are.
This city, its people, and its wildlife lay a claim on me — a claim of responsibility which every inhabitant of every city, town or village has — to do good to the place you are in and one day leave it in a more convivial state than you first came to it. Where you are is where you are — and is where you must be.
They drift to the greener pastures of elsewhere.
Dislocated rootlessness.
You are not responsible for the whole world — far from it. But you are responsible for the local places11 in front of you: the local people who you relate to, the unique buildings, art, and beauty that you enjoy every day, and the local environments and habitats that surround the place you dwell. Where you are is where you are — and what you are responsible for. This is a burden heavy enough for us. This is a burden that matches our limitations.12 This is a burden that we can faithfully discharge. And this is a burden that will present us with a lifetime of opportunities for doing good.
The local is where we are present. It is the place we know and the place where we are known. We do indeed inhabit nations and the world, but these meta-places are made up of many puzzle pieces: some large, others small, but each a unique place — most of which we will never set foot in nor places we could ever know intimately well. The nation and the world are not therefore the places that we chiefly inhabit. No matter how hard the institutions try to tell you otherwise. And if these meta-places are not where we chiefly inhabit, they are not the places we are chiefly responsible for. Only our local place can impose those kind of demands on us. We are chiefly responsible for the health of the place upon which we stand — and must work as hard as a dam-building beaver to this end16. Only then can we make a national or global difference — when our own house is in order. And when we find our own house is in order, we come to realise that our little actions add up and thus change the world — both the little patch of ground which we call home and the globe of which it is inseparably part of.
I may not have changed the whole wide world, but if I have planted and nurtured a tree, I have changed the earth at my feet for good — better for the next generation. Perhaps that’s all I need to do.
—
The threads that struck chords of resonance echo threads I INterwove INto One of my past SUBSTACKS “EverywHere Yet NowHere”:
How many of you Know the INs and outs of what's happenINg IN the neighbourhood you Live IN? IN the immediate CommUNITY, environment and ECOsystem withIN which you are rooted and Planted? How INVOLVED and IMMERSED are you THERE? Do you Know what the unemployment rate IS? Do you Know what the crime rate IS? Do you Know what the population IS? Are you connected with Elders IN your CommUNITY? Do you participate IN CommUNITY care? Are you LivINg IN reciprocity with the Land that you call Home? Do you Know what Herbal medicINe grows IN your front and backyard? What can you tell me about wHere you ACTUALLY Live? The commUNITY withIN which you are Truly embedded? That's a more important place to start. Without thIS, tHere IS no foundation. No ROOT SYSTEM.
So many people are demandINg that everyOne talks about what's happenINg IN Hawaii, or Ukraine, or Russia, or Israel, or Palestine IN FULL DETAIL ... when they don't even Know what's goINg on withIN and immediately AROUND them.
So many people are demandINg that everyOne offers a level of Presence to a far away place, that they aren’t even capable of offerINg to a touchable place.
IN Organic societies, long BEfore the hum of television sets or the omniPresent blue glare of screens, Human Life was deeply rooted IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. Life was INextricably tied to the rhythms of Nature, the ebb and flow of seasons, and the tangible realities of One's surroundINgs. The main Sources of stress and concern for INdividuals typically came from their immediate environment — whether it was the loomINg threat of a wild ANIMAl, the unpredictability of weather affectINg crops, or the dynamics of their tribe.
Our ancient Ancestors evolved ... or rather, INvolved as I Choose to say, to handle these immediate, tangible stressors. Their brains, SOMA and nervous systems WEre wired to respond to Present threats, make quick decisions, and adapt to their local environments. They WEre fINely attuned to the sights, sounds, and sensations of their immediate surroundINgs, and their sense of CommUNITY was based on face-to-face INteractions and shared experiences.
However, as technology BEgan to progress, especially with the advent of television, the INternet, and social media, the scope of Human experience expanded exponentially. Suddenly, INdividuals WEren't just privy to the happenINgs IN their immediate environment but WEre (and ARE) bombarded with INformation from ALL around the World, AT ALL TIMES. Wars IN distant Lands, tragedies IN far-off cities, political upheavals contINents away — All BEcame part of the daily INformation diet. And while these tools have brought tremendous BEnefits, bridgINg gaps and fosterINg global connections, they have also INtroduced an unprecedented level of INformation and emotional INput.
The Human brain, for All its adaptability, has struggled to keep up with thIS deluge of INformation. Our nervous systems, designed to handle the tangible threats and stresses of a localized environment, Now grapple with the INtangible and untouchable anxieties of global happenINgs. IN essence, while WE physically reside IN our local surroundINgs, our Body’s are often elsewHere, scattered across contINents, time zones, and realities. ThIS detachment from the 'Here' and immersion IN the 'everywHere' IS, IN many ways, short-circuitINg our Natural copINg mechanisms.
It's no surprise that WE see a surge IN psychological dis-ease, Spiritual dis-ease, digestive dis-ease and immunological dis-ease IN modern society. WE are INdividually and collectively, drownINg IN the digital depths. While these conditions cannot BE solely attributed to the INflux of technology and INformation, they undoubtedly play a significant role.
As Humans, WE've always sought connection, however, today, many fINd themSelves (technologically) connected everywHere, yet rooted nowHere.
ThIS IS the ubiquity of digital identity.
ExistINg or BEINg everywHere at the same time. Constantly encountered. W i d e s p r e a d. BEINg Present everyWhere, and tHerefore BEINg absent everywHere, as WELL.
—
It alWays feels affirmINg to have Truths that you hold reflected back at you and reINforced through another.
I look forward to tappINg INto what you recommended for further readINg!
So much truth in this piece! Thanks Hadden for reminding us that , although local action is “far from glamorous and won’t make you famous”, it is where we are called to act. Also find it quite special that you live in a town that Dickens referred to as the "dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the earth". I wonder what experience he must have had there to come up with such a description....
Will save this piece to my library of important essays!
Thanks Ruth, every time I read that quote from Dickens it makes me chuckle (and I dread to think what he would write about the city now!). I am now curious to as to what urged him to write a pretty blunt and extreme statement.
Lovely piece Hadden
My brother lived for a short time in Chelmsford, it wasn’t a life highlight but of course why should it be as ‘he wasn’t from round these parts’
Slight tangent (?) but the title evoked in me the remembrance of a phrase recently read “if you sit still enough, you can hear the sun move”
Or, if you truly are where you are, you’ve come to your senses, which is the doorway to salvation (Lk 15 thereabouts :) )
Thanks Eric, you are the second reader to have a connection with Chelmsford - perhaps this small city is more renowned than I thought!
I love that line "if you sit still enough, you can hear the sun move" - I was doing some poetry just now and thought of how the robin sings the dawn into motion every morning - even in the dead of winter. It is as if the sun responds to its song.
Where’s the ‘Love’ button?!! :)
Creation is a responsive dance
Wow, I resonate with this so much! One aspect that strikes me about the relative unimportance of news from from far away is its lack of accuracy. If you know your own area and culture and community really well, you know how inaccurate news about it can be! “Well they didn't mention this other thing,” and “it's actually so much more complicated than that,” and “well that wasn't very charitable” are always going through your mind. And to think how true that must be ablout other places!
When we think too big, we're liable to become distraught at the futility I think. We just can't change the world, but we can definitely change our home. And our homes are in such great need that we have no need to feel bad about focusing on it instead of some great evil far away.
I saved this post, and I think I'll return to it. So many helpful thoughts.
"When we think too big, we're liable to become distraught at the futility I think. We just can't change the world, but we can definitely change our home. And our homes are in such great need that we have no need to feel bad about focusing on it instead of some great evil far away."
Indeed! This reminds me of that quote from Illich that formed the bulk of an essay I recently wrote on care - (paraphrase) you can only care for something if you know it intimately.
That's probably my other favorite piece of yours. I really need to read some Illich.
Also, I really appreciate the footnote reminding us of environmental leakage. I'm new to that term, but it's such an important thing to keep in mind whatever we call it. I think it's deserving of posts of its own!
That is a great idea Wayne! You are right, it is such an important topic to consider especially when we are confronted with a plethora of sustainability accolades or claims coming from the food industry. When you lookout the whole complex picture it becomes plain that many of these claims do not hold up - but the consumer is by and large ignorant of this.
what a great piece to come across the day before i move from London to Chelmsford! a temporary move as i keep looking for somewhere to stay in London (rental market, UGH) but my partner is from Chelmsford and I've grown kind of fond of it. as an Aberdonian I'm a far stretch from home but have even come to appreciate my hometown more and daydream about going back and starting up some sort of arts initiative for young people there...
I really appreciate this piece of writing. I love Wendell and Kingsnorth and have been reading both quite recently. They're always so sharp.
My suburb isn't too glamorous either but this moves me to see it not as a place where I'll eventually move away from, but as the place I am now. I should know my 15 miles and my 15 miles should know me.
You've given me a kind nudge in the right direction and I'm thankful for it. I'll be passing it on to others.
All the best,
Will
Thanks Will, this is heartening and encouraging to hear.
Berry and Kingsnorth have both influenced me greatly. Almost every time I read them I come away with some new insight that helps me to navigate the maze of modernity.
This was a good read my friend. Often times our "concern" over global issues can make us feel powerless to affect any real change. This refocusing on the local reminds us (me) that there is a lot of good that can be done on the local level. At the end of the day any systemic national or global issue is a combination of many local issues.
Its funny to read your musings on Chelmsford, because most Americans would view your town as decidedly quaint rather than boring. Living in a terribly homogenous American suburb means that I envy any amount of historic architecture, even Chelmsford's.
Thats a good corrective, Jackson, I am indeed blessed by some old buildings in Chelmsford and too easily forget this! (just to clarify - the picture I chose for this piece is not of Chelmsford - the village in this picture is absolute delightful)
What you say here is key: "At the end of the day any systemic national or global issue is a combination of many local issues." - but is so often neglected by those in power or those trying to effect positive change.
Thanks for this, Hadden. You help us to consider the importance and value of where we are and what we have now. Being thankful, taking small but meaningful steps to improve our locality, and seeking to live a fruitful, "ripe" life where we stand are acts of resistance to the voices that urge us to ever-increasing dissatisfaction or place demands on us that can only crush us in the long term.
Thanks Chris, I am glad you highlighted the "ripe life" part. Ever since reading this in Wendell Berry's essay Quantity Versus Form, I have not stopped thinking abut the "ripe life" and how important this is to guide one's life away from the paths of triviality and vice. For the Christian, the ripe life is the life faithfully run to its completion doing the work our Lord has for us to do - which will mostly be work in our local area and local church. It is an encouraging and liberating thought.
This essay resonates in every part of my being. Yes, yes, yes. These issues are what compelled me to start a Substack and start looking for answers.
My biggest question is: how do I actually get involved locally? I think my naivete is showing here, but I feel totally at a loss on how to take concrete action; perhaps it's part of my generation...of being more digitally connected than physically.
I am young too, and the hinderances to local action are something I feel keenly. I must also say it is one of the reasons I am actually moving away from my local area (as I hinted I might in the essay) as I have found my home city has become almost impossible to form local community in (and house prices are so expensive). We are moving to a rural area where the community is thicker and beauty more apparent.
But, as to some ideas, I think joining local clubs and societies is one thing (especially those which are multi-generational in make up) And then if you are part of a church trying to do events for the community is another option. Our church does two events each month: sit-and-knit and poetry in the pub in a local pub as a regular community presence. Other churches have done litter picks, organised community fun days etc with good success.
But, fostering good community is long and hard work and not without pain, frustration, and disappointment. This is a message I need to preach to myself.
Amen to that. I confess being jealous of your move to a more rural area — I'm working towards that, but can't quite make the leap yet for a number of reasons. For now, I must do the hard work you speak of, probably...getting more involved in my church. I've failed on that front, to be sure.
You were recommended to us by John Lovie, Hadden. I'm so glad he did. This is a beautiful post which adds beautifully to our own discourse.
My pleasure, Safar, I am very glad you found this helpful
Forgot who said but I've heard the quote: "Where ever you go, there you are." Thanks for the read.
Beautiful moments ❤️
I discovered your writing today. Beautiful and thought provoking. My mother's family all hail from Chelmsford and Galleywood. I spent many happy hours on Wood Farm and Galleywood Common as a child, and my uncle has a long-standing voluntary role at Chelmsford Cathedral. Looking forward to discovering more of your work.
Thanks Nicola,
I have spent many a happy hour on Galleywood Common too. A very special place.
Excellent piece. Why indeed are we exhorted to change the world, when there is so much to be done in our local areas? It's sad to see the decline of local newspapers (though there are some excellent hyperlocal online media resources)
From a Maldonian to a Chelmsfordian: really enjoyed this, Hadden, but I'd say Chelmsford Cathedral is impressive enough for its size! All the best.
Ha! You are right, I really should pay another visit to the cathedral to explore its hidden gems.
And I have many great memories from Maldon
That’s Gary Snyder...
Indeed it is - I footnoted him.
THIS IS SUCH A POETICALLY DECADENT AND INTELLECTUALLY RICH PIECE. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hadden. God Bless you!
THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO BE HAD AND HELD.
The specific threads that struck chords of resonance:
Where you are is where you are. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Perhaps too simple, too obvious — or to put it bluntly — it’s blatantly obvious, isn’t it? But oh, how often we ignore that which is plain, simple, and familiar. When coupled with the passing of years, familiarity has the unfortunate habit of devolving into over-familiarity. This state of mind predictably gives rise to ignorance and the ‘invisibilising’ of that which is right in front of us — that which is obvious and should be well-known. And one of the many forgotten ‘right in front of us truths’ is the fact that where we are is really where we are — it is our home, our community, our place. Not over ‘there’, where the pastures may well be greener or life more exciting — but here in this specific place with these specific people, these unique buildings and streets, and these precious habitats and communities of species.
This is where we are.
This city, its people, and its wildlife lay a claim on me — a claim of responsibility which every inhabitant of every city, town or village has — to do good to the place you are in and one day leave it in a more convivial state than you first came to it. Where you are is where you are — and is where you must be.
They drift to the greener pastures of elsewhere.
Dislocated rootlessness.
You are not responsible for the whole world — far from it. But you are responsible for the local places11 in front of you: the local people who you relate to, the unique buildings, art, and beauty that you enjoy every day, and the local environments and habitats that surround the place you dwell. Where you are is where you are — and what you are responsible for. This is a burden heavy enough for us. This is a burden that matches our limitations.12 This is a burden that we can faithfully discharge. And this is a burden that will present us with a lifetime of opportunities for doing good.
The local is where we are present. It is the place we know and the place where we are known. We do indeed inhabit nations and the world, but these meta-places are made up of many puzzle pieces: some large, others small, but each a unique place — most of which we will never set foot in nor places we could ever know intimately well. The nation and the world are not therefore the places that we chiefly inhabit. No matter how hard the institutions try to tell you otherwise. And if these meta-places are not where we chiefly inhabit, they are not the places we are chiefly responsible for. Only our local place can impose those kind of demands on us. We are chiefly responsible for the health of the place upon which we stand — and must work as hard as a dam-building beaver to this end16. Only then can we make a national or global difference — when our own house is in order. And when we find our own house is in order, we come to realise that our little actions add up and thus change the world — both the little patch of ground which we call home and the globe of which it is inseparably part of.
I may not have changed the whole wide world, but if I have planted and nurtured a tree, I have changed the earth at my feet for good — better for the next generation. Perhaps that’s all I need to do.
—
The threads that struck chords of resonance echo threads I INterwove INto One of my past SUBSTACKS “EverywHere Yet NowHere”:
How many of you Know the INs and outs of what's happenINg IN the neighbourhood you Live IN? IN the immediate CommUNITY, environment and ECOsystem withIN which you are rooted and Planted? How INVOLVED and IMMERSED are you THERE? Do you Know what the unemployment rate IS? Do you Know what the crime rate IS? Do you Know what the population IS? Are you connected with Elders IN your CommUNITY? Do you participate IN CommUNITY care? Are you LivINg IN reciprocity with the Land that you call Home? Do you Know what Herbal medicINe grows IN your front and backyard? What can you tell me about wHere you ACTUALLY Live? The commUNITY withIN which you are Truly embedded? That's a more important place to start. Without thIS, tHere IS no foundation. No ROOT SYSTEM.
So many people are demandINg that everyOne talks about what's happenINg IN Hawaii, or Ukraine, or Russia, or Israel, or Palestine IN FULL DETAIL ... when they don't even Know what's goINg on withIN and immediately AROUND them.
So many people are demandINg that everyOne offers a level of Presence to a far away place, that they aren’t even capable of offerINg to a touchable place.
IN Organic societies, long BEfore the hum of television sets or the omniPresent blue glare of screens, Human Life was deeply rooted IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. Life was INextricably tied to the rhythms of Nature, the ebb and flow of seasons, and the tangible realities of One's surroundINgs. The main Sources of stress and concern for INdividuals typically came from their immediate environment — whether it was the loomINg threat of a wild ANIMAl, the unpredictability of weather affectINg crops, or the dynamics of their tribe.
Our ancient Ancestors evolved ... or rather, INvolved as I Choose to say, to handle these immediate, tangible stressors. Their brains, SOMA and nervous systems WEre wired to respond to Present threats, make quick decisions, and adapt to their local environments. They WEre fINely attuned to the sights, sounds, and sensations of their immediate surroundINgs, and their sense of CommUNITY was based on face-to-face INteractions and shared experiences.
However, as technology BEgan to progress, especially with the advent of television, the INternet, and social media, the scope of Human experience expanded exponentially. Suddenly, INdividuals WEren't just privy to the happenINgs IN their immediate environment but WEre (and ARE) bombarded with INformation from ALL around the World, AT ALL TIMES. Wars IN distant Lands, tragedies IN far-off cities, political upheavals contINents away — All BEcame part of the daily INformation diet. And while these tools have brought tremendous BEnefits, bridgINg gaps and fosterINg global connections, they have also INtroduced an unprecedented level of INformation and emotional INput.
The Human brain, for All its adaptability, has struggled to keep up with thIS deluge of INformation. Our nervous systems, designed to handle the tangible threats and stresses of a localized environment, Now grapple with the INtangible and untouchable anxieties of global happenINgs. IN essence, while WE physically reside IN our local surroundINgs, our Body’s are often elsewHere, scattered across contINents, time zones, and realities. ThIS detachment from the 'Here' and immersion IN the 'everywHere' IS, IN many ways, short-circuitINg our Natural copINg mechanisms.
It's no surprise that WE see a surge IN psychological dis-ease, Spiritual dis-ease, digestive dis-ease and immunological dis-ease IN modern society. WE are INdividually and collectively, drownINg IN the digital depths. While these conditions cannot BE solely attributed to the INflux of technology and INformation, they undoubtedly play a significant role.
As Humans, WE've always sought connection, however, today, many fINd themSelves (technologically) connected everywHere, yet rooted nowHere.
ThIS IS the ubiquity of digital identity.
ExistINg or BEINg everywHere at the same time. Constantly encountered. W i d e s p r e a d. BEINg Present everyWhere, and tHerefore BEINg absent everywHere, as WELL.
—
It alWays feels affirmINg to have Truths that you hold reflected back at you and reINforced through another.
I look forward to tappINg INto what you recommended for further readINg!