Watching Birds Fly

This moment is so sweet. There is something special about enjoying life and its genuine essence. I am sitting on my grandparent’s big, back porch enjoying the views of the forest in the backyard. A helicopter flew over and made a loud, pounding sound that made all the ravens fly out of the trees. There is a wind chime I've never noticed before clinging and clanging, depending on the wind to guide its calming sounds. The trees are all brushing up against each other and I can hear their leaves touching to make noises like ocean waves crashing onto shore. This is beautiful. I often, selfishly, want to go back to the time when we enjoyed such things. A time when the iPhone was non-existent and people looked at each other in the eyes when they spoke. A time when life was not watched on a screen or lived out by a camera.

Yet, I enjoy viewing magnificent photos of Mt. Everest and watching vibrant culture from countries I may never see with my own eyes. I enjoy facetiming my cousin who lives 8 hours away from me and I love hearing about his life. The 21st century is bittersweet and something that I think we all love and yet we all hate. We get opportunities we never used to get, however, this also keeps us from truly living life (most of the time). Self-control is becoming something of the past and self-indulgence is becoming something we’ve become infatuated with. Social media has been infiltrated with constant news, bright advertisements, back and forth politics, violence, and many other intense things for the mind and body to see all the time. Hiding in our rooms has become normal and acceptable. The excuse that I am “watching Netflix in a dark room alone” is not seen as unhealthy or concerning. We are falling apart on the inside, yet, keeping our outer shells looking shiny and brand new.

What would happen if we began sitting on back porches again? What would happen if we listened to sounds as sweet as wind chimes? What would happen if we talked without screens in front of our faces? What would happen if we started watching the birds fly? This thought is a dream. At this point our innovations are moving faster than our senses and true life is disappearing. How do we fix it? I don’t really know.