An experience for one

Does it all need to be captured?

Hi there,

An experience for one: Experiencing something, a moment, a thing, an event, without the need to capture, share, or post about it.

Five things to share:

1. One thing is essential to our experiences in the digital age: Capture it or it didn't happen. Pull out phone, click-click-click, done; now that's an experience. From the extraordinary to the slightly out of the ordinary, and at times plain ol’ ordinary, it all needs to be photographed or filmed when noticed. But, is it still possible to have experiences that one enjoys in the moment, without the need to capture, share, post or otherwise keep it recorded in the digital sphere for memory sake?

2. I decided to give The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray another try. It’s been an experience having to pause and internally argue with the author at times: I’m used to reading things I like and agree with. It made me realize how little I engage with content that I don’t agree with, fully or in part, and that it, too, is easy to create an echo chamber even offline with the choices we make.

3. I have been thinking a lot about the void that is left when we unplug, and the need to fill it back up. Seek Silence is short video on seeing silence as an adventure into peace and quiet: In silence we can hear our own thoughts. Silence speaks for the part of life that is beyond words. There is space, inner freedom and creativity. We find a place within us that is centered, a place of trust. As the noisy demands of daily life make us shrink inside, in silence we expand. Don't underestimate the power of silence.

4. A quote I want to share with you:

   Be careful not to take refuge in any delusion.
   — James Baldwin

   Best cure? Challenge your perspective by engaging with opposing views and ideas that make you uncomfortable, and people that make you cringe— You might learn a thing or two.

5. I was inspired by Colin Wright’s Lifestyle for One when writing about an experience for one. I read his essay a while back and I go back to it often.

   Building a life that’s you-shaped can feel like putting on clothes that fit, after years of walking around wearing a sleeping bag. But it’s important to maintain malleability, and to keep experimenting: with yourself, your life, and with others. Life can be a balancing act — perhaps especially when it’s seemingly ideal.

That’s all for this week! 

Thank you for reading, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.

Until next time,

Mehret