THAT SACRED SPACE IN MY MIND


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"It is hard to understand addiction unless you have experienced it.”
-       Ken Hensley

For most of us – shall I say ‘for all of us’ – it’s become very, very difficult to sit quietly at one place, even for a few seconds. Our minds have become so addictive to fill every millisecond of that quiet space… that, our hands instinctively reach to our phones, computers and other gadgets…

And, there we are… All of us… everywhere… looking down on our mobile-phone or computer screens… endlessly watching something, reading something, listening to something, allowing ourselves to be swayed and influenced, and, yes, ‘colonized’…

Though I knew what the constant onslaught of social media and technology has done to our lives, it was Mahershala Ali, the American actor and rapper, from whom I first picked this colourful expression:
“Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought and creativity.”
Let’s reflect on those words: “The space reserved for thought and creativity”!
Many of us know what happens to our lives when the land reserved for trees, gardens and play is taken away for reckless construction work – yes, in the name of ‘progress and development’. We see activists fighting to save that precious land for us - for our children and families. But, who will fight to save this ‘sacred space’ in our minds, which we have allowed to be taken away… yes, all in the name of ‘progress and development’… call it ‘information and entertainment’?
I am not a saint, Sir… I, too, am a sinner. I am guilty!
But, then, as we realize the value of anything in life when we lose it… now, many of us are beginning to realize, more and more clearly, the value of what we have chosen to lose…
So much is already there on our phones and computers and so much is still coming… It’s insane and it is, also, making all of us insane, in the process…
Some of us live in denial… We reason out, “But, we all have a choice… We can choose not to get addicted.”
I have said it, and I am still saying it… Yes, we have a choice not to allow anything to reduce us to be addicts of any ‘substance’ in life. But, I, also, know how tough it is to exercise that choice…
Meanwhile, the ‘open space’, which was reserved for our recreation is being grabbed… The quiet space, which was reserved for our thought and creativity, is being invaded, colonized…
And, the only way we all can regain this ‘space’ is by being aware, watchful and assertive… If we want it back, we will, surely, get it back…
Else, not!

GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: www.youtube.com

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