I often teeter on this balance between the incredible knowledge and entertainment that we get to experience from the internet and at the same time, the complete waste of energy in using the internet at all. 

I remind myself that I don't want to have a tombstone one day that reads, "She could have spent more time on the internet. She could have watched more stuff."

Whenever I compare it to a few days in a vacation home with friends or time with family. I don't check my phone or scroll the internet nearly as much as when I'm in "work mode."

Herbie Hancock recently said it's taken him 15 years to make his newest album because of YouTube rabbit holes.

And yet, it's one of the greatest tools for information building. A tool to connect to people all across the globe. A tool to make things with someone you're not sitting in a room with.

So what is the balance? We are clearly the first generation of humans to interact with the internet and are completely unaware of what is healthy or unhealthy. We are the first ones off the cliff and here to experiment and push all the boundaries of what is a good idea and bad idea. Just like cars were invented without seat belts, the internet is still very amorphous.

Offline vs Online

What is a life that is lived, versus a life that is crafted to be viewed by people you'll never meet?

What does it feel like to sit at a dinner with friends and laugh 'til you cry versus to watch YouTube home alone? 

What does it feel like to watch an action movie, versus to go on an adventure, stand at the top of a cliff or jump into a body of water and really feel the sensation of being alive? 

Maybe what will help all of the depression, anxiety and uncertainty in the world is a lot more living and a lot less watching others live. 

So for this month, let's get dirty. Let's run around barefoot. Lay on grass. Jump into water. Drink yummy fruity drinks. Enjoy the sunshine. Laugh until someone pees their pants.

Journal Prompt

The Fire Newsletter