Every now and then my friends and I sit down and have a genuine, incredibly exciting conversation with each other where we fantasize about dropping everything, moving to Canada, and living in a wood cabin far out in the forest. We would spend our days chopping wood and foraging for food. Not a cell phone in sight. Ah yes, a man can dream.
I can’t quite tell you why the prospect of recklessly abandoning civilization exhilarates me so much. All I know is that the thought of fully immersing myself in nature’s embrace sends sparks flying somewhere deep in my monkey brain. Which of course comes to today’s topic; go touch grass.
I think my favorite part about nature is how undeniable our attachment to it is. No matter your belief – be it the Christian, Judaist and Islamic view of our origins in the Garden of Eden, the Hindu ideology that life itself sprouted from a lotus flower, or even the atheistic view of evolution where we gradually evolved alongside the rest of the planet – it cannot be contested that the cradle of humankind lies in the palm of the natural world we seemingly try so hard to separate ourselves from. We spend our days trapped in sharp fortresses of brick and steel plugged into a digital dopamine dystopia that systematically destroys our individuality and wonder why we’re sad all the time. It sounds so painfully obvious when you say it out loud.
Phantom vibration syndrome: The false perception that one’s mobile phone or another technological device is vibrating when it is not. Your brain quite literally produces tactile hallucinations to trick you into opening your phone. The stupid brick of wires and circuits we all carry around like 6-shooters in a western has managed to imbed itself so deeply in our heads we don’t even know what is and isn’t real anymore. You’ll check your phone 80 times a day and average a crisp 6 hours 40 minutes in that time. If those numbers alone are not reason enough to be concerned, I want to take a moment to explore some biology with you my dear reader.
Parasites are a unique spectacle of the natural world that entirely depend on other creatures for their own survival. Probably the most popular parasite on the culture cutting board now is cordyceps, the fungus that literally controls insect’s minds like a nightmare straight out of science fiction. Cordyceps was faced with a tough challenge in evolution – how to conveniently find an ideal place to both live and reproduce when you’re well, immobile. The genius solution? Enslave a poor unsuspecting bug and turn them into a mindless drone capable of achieving nothing unless you instruct it to do so. The insect, now without free will, marches around in search of the best place to leave its host without nourishing or caring for itself in any way, shape, or form. It is entirely governed by a new purpose quite literally going against its survival instincts just to ensure that its parasite is pleased. Sound familiar at all?
Now yes, I’m aware that the above is an extreme comparison but with conditions like PVS rapidly on the rise worldwide, I must confess I’m deeply concerned with how manipulative our phones are beginning to become. There’s an incredibly interesting cycle I often find myself trapped in, it goes something like this: put down phone to do something else, ignore initial urges to check phone, start to feel anxiety about possibly missing something on my phone, cave in and check phone, boom half an hour disappears and I’m right back where I started only now my anxiety has been replaced with anger about the time I’ve wasted. I know I’m for sure not the only person who does this. It seems humanities miracle invention has unveiled its true sinister intentions.
Multiple studies worldwide have found a direct correlation between increased cell phone use and the prevalence of mental disorders such as generalised anxiety disorder and persistent depressive disorder or dysthymia. My belief on the matter is simple. We are a species from nature who have lost our way. Humanity to me has always seemed like a jealous child who constantly try to one up an opponent who simply does not care. We spend our days trying to spite the very world that created us. Our most recent masterpiece: digitised, individualised content that has been specifically designed to string together a source of dopamine to consistently appease the minds pleasure centre. Unfortunately, this fake trail of happiness does not last. It’s an endless abyss demanding stimulation with unprecedented greed. A quick hit that fades before you know it bringing your mood down akin to the street drugs we also seem so righteous about. Subconsciously, we’re at war with a parasite that is hellbent on controlling our emotional state and devouring our time. After the parasite strikes, you’re left feeling cold, lonely, and then that all so familiar wave of overwhelming anxiety washes over imbedding itself in your stomach and bones.
Once again, the phone opens.
The system resets.
That stream of blue light starts up without fail.
The mind control has taken over.
We’ve become the victims of one of the greatest crimes in human history. We’re literally losing our minds. Our very souls stolen by corporate greed.
Now where does my cabin in the woods fit into this mess?
I go for walks. Look at the plants. They’re simply stunning. The way they grow, adapt to change, overcome the harshest conditions. Even cactuses in the driest of deserts where we see nothing but baron land and hopelessness, see an opportunity to flower. I strive to be more like the trees that stand tall in the wind, unbothered by a hellfire of conditions.
I find myself staring out windows like a lost romantic. My gaze stolen by an inconceivable beauty. She is perfection that seems only possible in the deepest corners of a wild imagination. A river’s flow of interlinking pieces that work in a balanced harmony I can never find. Peace and chaos blended together locked in an endless dance of excitement. I yearn to rekindle the spark that made me who I am.
No words can fully provide justice to nature’s healing power, but I will say with my full chest. On those days, when the world feels like a constant warzone, a dark shadow of misery that seems entirely inescapable, when I find myself caught in a pessimistic spiral drowning under the weight of reality, I step into nature and suddenly all is well. I know I’m not alone. She calls us to her. The evidence is uncontestable. It’s no coincidence that the color green reduces depression symptoms.
Maybe stop for a moment. Put down the phone. Release that deep breath you’ve been holding captive for far too long. And go touch grass.