It is becoming clearer every day that I am a true product of my times. And when I say my times, I mean the nineteen hundreds. 

Cue the Waltons theme song. 

It feels like I spend most of my life staring at screens. Every store wants you to use their app and everywhere you turn, someone is shoving some fake piece of AI generated junk in your face. From the selection of stock artwork we sometimes use at my job to things people share on social media, it feels like our society has lost track of its collective common sense. It feels like we don’t want a  connection to anything tangible or real. 

It’s rare to see kids playing outside. People don’t seem to enjoy practicing their craft anymore. Nothing is real. We would rather have a photo on a screen than one we print out and keep in a frame or photo album. We prefer phone games with strangers to board games with family. We want stories in fifteen second soundbytes. We prefer streaming to a CD we can hold in our hands. The tangible has been replaced by the virtual and I’m not digging it. 

Good grief. I sound like Andy Rooney. Remember him? The old guy on CBS News who used to complain about everything under the sun?

I don’t mean to complain but I do worry about a society that can’t distinguish between reality and AI. I worry that our society is losing a piece of its soul as we don’t encourage people to be painters, poets, historians, philosophers or musicians. Trade jobs pay better and we tell kids not to waste their time on things that won’t make them money.  I worry that the processed food industry has finally turned the tide in the war against people knowing how to grow their own food and prepare nutritious meals. I worry that we have lost our ability to enjoy simple pleasures because we’re so overstimulated. I worry about a world without empathy and without a basic understanding of how far we have come across history. I worry for a country that embraces lies over truth and that thinks rewriting history to suit the egos of a few is ok.

The lack of empathy, loss of joy for anything at all, and misinterpretation of history is a dangerous combination. The endless advice to turn hobbies into side hustles tells us that we can no longer do something because we enjoy it – everything is a potential income stream.

I have been exhibiting signs of adult ADHD. I don’t believe this is as much of a real problem for me as it is for many others but whatever is going on in my brain is making it impossible to concentrate. 

I cannot be alone in these thoughts and problems. 

Personally, I like to cook, to read and to create things for fun.. I prefer the outdoors to screen time when the summer heat and humidity aren’t hammering us every single day. I like books and exploration, homemade soup, and little decorating projects. Watching lightning bugs at dusk and admiring a sunrise will always be some of my favorite things.

I have begun to think of a more Analog Life as a goal to work toward and have gone so far as to begin plotting the many ways I can make my home more cozy, the ways I can avoid technology, and the benefits of music on the record player, dinner on the porch, and meals I make with a few simple ingredients. 

Finding a rhythm to the day and leaning into the boundaries and opportunities of the seasons feels important to me. We are moving into Autumn (hopefully soon), a season of bounty with long walks and lots of textures to keep things cozy. The days are shorter but they tend to be magnificent when the leaves put on a grand show that reminds us all how beautiful it can be to let things go. 

Embracing self care through movement in nature, hydration, and nutrition is an important part of each season. Being mindful of how you treat your body shouldn’t be lost on us but it is for many. 

I cannot just check out of the digital age. This is how I connect with you, dear reader. It’s a big part of my job and my best connection to friends from afar. It’s how I find things I need. It’s part of the world I live in and not all bad. But I do hope to start trimming the amount of hours that the outside world can occupy in my day. 

Twinkle lights on the porch with hot chocolate in hand never hurt anyone’s well being. A book to help us relax in the evening is always a good idea. Food prepared with few ingredients in your own kitchen nourishes the body while breathing fresh air will patch up the damage we’ve done to our spirits each day. It grounds us. 

Puzzles and board games at the kitchen table, popsicles on a hot day, classic tunes on a record player, a paint-by-number kit, cookies baking in the oven, cruising with the windows open, a clean home, and time spent with a beloved pet are a few ways to unplug and detox.

Make something with your own two hands just for the pleasure of doing. Close your eyes and savor your food. Learn some sewing skills even if it’s just to repair something you might have otherwise thrown away.  Remember that getting something done quickly for the sake of getting it done may not be as good as the experience of doing.

Do these things, not for the Instagram photo but for the joy of doing. Do these things because they’re worth doing. Enjoy yourself. Feel your stress levels decrease. Feel your sense of joy and belonging in this world improve. Understand that the world’s problems are not your burden to carry. Worrying about them won’t change a thing.  It sounds radical by today’s standards but it’s not really. It’s just that modern society has tricked you into thinking that a fake thing on a screen is better than reality and that it’s all more valuable than your personal peace. 

Let’s prove them wrong, shall we?