Wendell Berry writes:
"The digital devices are recommended or required in order to prepare for 'the world of the future.' The cost of this expensive preparation is virtual exile from the present world that is available at no cost outside their front doors. And so they spend their liveliest years mostly sitting and looking at screens."
It’s hard not to become overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness in the face of what I see through the lens of what has been called my “algorithm.” It’s funny because I’ve become an avid Tenkara fly-fisher and of course the temptation is to document via my camera phone and post inspiring images of my catches…such as they are. As in, it’s an all out battle sometimes to not want some dopamine hit from “likes” and other emojis for my interaction with nature.
The truth is, while fishing I find myself unable to think about or focus on anything other than what I’m doing in the moment. I’m fully present. I’ve taken to carefully handling the mysterious trout and taking just a moment to look in to it’s eye. It has become a moment of contemplation with something real and alive. And as difficult as it is, I generally avoid posting about it.
Last fall I got to do my first ever screen printing project and my became a reflection of this moment. I enjoy both the “drawing-version” and the “screen-version” (shown above) as mirror images of that moment gazing in to the eye of life. The title is “Gidagaanmegoz.” This is the Ojibwe name for the trout, a nod to timeless yet immanent existence of this small creature as well as my being a guest in the space of the river.
I am, as most folks are, living into this digital lifestyle. The allure of the screen is a constant. I'm typing this little post on a laptop computer (I could just as easily done so on my cell phone) which is a testament to the exile Mr. Berry writes about. For better or for worse, our work depends on these exilic tools and “require” us to be active in this world through a blog, a Facebook page, a website, a Twitter feed, an Instagram account, or Substack.
However, lest I sound like an old curmudgeon, others have reminded me that this digital-exile tool is also a means by which I get to share my gift to the world And so the tension remains and I do hope these insights are a gift to those who read and view.
In the end, I want to engage what's REAL. I'm growing weary of trying to keep up with the world of the future.
Berry writes further, "when people begin to replace stories from local memory with stories from television screens, another vital part of life is lost." I propose we take the time today to touch something real and linger and consider the irreplaceable gift of life. Get dirty, skin your knee, play.
And just for fun, here’s a pic of a recently landed brown trout in the Waabishkaa-ziibi (the Ojibwe name for the river location).
