Stop notifying me and serving me up nonsense. Some days I feel that I need to whisper the above into my phone so the algorithms serve me up things I actually really want? I actually want well written election articles at the moment. Or maybe I need to turn my smart phone off and pick up the old fashion newspaper (assuming that is better).
I have been dreaming of going to my special place on the east coast. It is a place that has no internet or cell phone reception, no cafes, shingle roads and a place you can walk for miles without interruption. You can surf, fish, swim, dive in water that is so fresh, clear and wild. It is a secret place I want no one else to find or a least no one to develop. I will often climb to the top of the cliff over looking the beach and look beyond my world and onto the next. It is refreshing and allows me to keep things in perspective. While at night I will go to the same place and lie back and just look at the stars and beyond. It is a place of real connections with nature and a place that does not allow for my smart phone to notify me of things I just don't need to know about.
I think our world has become full of information served to us that is not needed. Therefore we need places to escape too with those we love. We need to connect with nature and we need to connect in person with people. There is a massive gap between connections on social media through images of beautiful beaches to the real state of being that draws all the senses to become alive and present. Seeing with our eyes 'the real' and touching in person is something that social media will never be able to replace. And frankly the constant notification and attention that my phone requires is exhausting. Even though I turn many of the app notifications off I still get drawn into messages which I just dont need to know about.
As you know I recently did a Tedtalk style presentation this month on HOPE - our future, our planet, our young ones. Did you know that 60% of our young ones believe there is no hope for our planet? Did you know that there is now a clinical diagnosis called 'Climate anxiety' that ranges from sadness, anxiety, depression to suicide and the numbers diagnosed are growing.
Maybe we need our young ones to spend more time in nature and have them disconnect from social media. My talk was not about these two points as I could only cover 3 key areas within my 15 minute time limited. The topics I did cover were what history has taught us, conversations that are needed with our young ones and how we can empower them. But connecting with nature and disconnecting from the artificial is something I know I need right now and I cant imagine how our young people feel when bombarded with negative climate change messaging all the time.
So who has been following the election lead up? I made my kids watch part of the first Leaders debate on TV. I think it is really important for children to understand the political landscape they live in. My children are almost too young to fully understand or at least be able to watch a full debate but I did manage to talk about some of the issues with them. My middle child said that the candidates visited his high school and he loved hearing what they had to say. I thought that was fantastic that the school encouraged and arranged such an event. I have no doubt that my middle child will continue to be political and I cant wait to see what changes he will be able to make for his future.
I recently read a great Stuff article on what each party has to say about climate change. I think it is fantastic that climate change policies are a key issue for all parties, but as to how they will follow through on them is another story.
Thanks for listening to my ramble again
Anna Mills-Bordignon xx