18Jun
Are you addicted to the internet?
The Buddha says that it is our attachment that is the cause of all suffering. Life is full of attachment. In the most severe form we think of addiction. Drugs, alcohol, sex and gambling are all addictions society has labeled as pretty serious and dysfunctional. Yet, we live with many so many addictions not labeled as addiction by society.
Surfing the internet is an addiction. Here I am with so many beautiful books to read, so many moments to experience, yet how much of that precious time goes into surfing the net in order to find the answer to my problems, the escape to my boredom, the company to my loneliness.
Without realizing it, I search for happiness through the internet. Have I ever considered it to be an addiction? Of course not, being connected online is a lifestyle.
It is the way through which my creativity is shared, the way I keep in contact with my friends and family, the platform to advertise and run my business from. At times it acts as my medical advisor, my dictionary, my school. It raises my awareness and sometimes it sets me at ease.
How many hours do I sit do research to plan ahead, to find memories of the past or to compare my experience with others’, all in the name of finding clarity? It is like having a mind outside of my mind, and I am intensely attached to it.
I wonder what my life would be without it? I am not suggesting to myself to go without, yet how much of my lack of peace can I ascribe to losing time on a habit I never before thought of as destructive? Even when I sit in peace outside and the stream of inspiration passes through me, I reach for my blog page to write on.
The challenge is to set new standards, to create little rituals away from our computers and to connect with life, real life, life that emanate from the trees outside, life that falls on our skin in the form of cool air, life that reaches us through the neighborhood sounds, life that energizes us when we hum a tune.
I set this new standard to myself now to experience life once again as a sensory experience. Will you meet me there?