Listening

Digital Askesis and todays challenges of technology.

What species of bird on the salt marshes initiates a resounding chatter just moments before the sun rises? The curlew is the answer. Nine years in this house beside Harbour View beach, and I never noticed it before. Because I never listened. They feed along the shoreline and inland also, along the farmers ploughed fields. Two mornings now I’ve woken before sunrise and pushed my window open to let the birdsong in and the sounds of the curlews have drifted into my room.

I wouldn't have noticed this behaviour if it hadn't been for a lifestyle change I made last week. I’ve started a digital detox. It involves having zero screens of any kind till after 3pm every day. And the difference it has made is incredible. I am more present, more focused, and happier. I’ve exchanged time-absorbing content for more time and space to have conversations with people face-to-face, my neighbours, people in the village, and my housemates. And when 3 p.m. arrives, I can turn on any device I want. But I’ve noticed something. After spending my day without screens, working with my hands, being outside, writing, and engaging in whatever activity I'm doing, I find that the allure of the device has diminished. Indulging and giving myself those little dopamine boosts is no longer so attractive. It’s still there, I still take them, but I've already spent the best parts of my day being productive and present, so it doesn't really matter.

Attend to the world, they say. Attend to what is there before you, what is in your locale. Consider various moments in life that necessitates concentrated attention for optimal care. We have many examples. Let’s take a mother and her child. A child is at its most vulnerable when small and an eye has to be kept on her at all times to protect her from wandering and coming into contact with any danger. So the mother watches her closely, is attentive and present, and the child receives the care it needs. Consider a man working with some tool in his shed. He is focused and concentrating, and when the tool starts to sound different or reduce its functionality, he immediately recognizes it and addresses the issue. We can't care for anything without attention, including nature. Is it any wonder that our environment is degrading at the rate it is? Now, as autumn approaches after the summer months, I paused to reflect on the previous season, during which I had spent a significant amount of time in my garden, and it dawned on me that, for the first time in my memory, I had not seen a single butterfly. That fact ought to be a lot more compelling and important than when the next Netflix season comes out.

I agree with Paul Kingsnorth that the challenges of technology now are of a spiritual dimension. Here is what he has to say about it.

Askesis is usually translated as ‘self-discipline’, or sometimes ‘self-denial’, and it has been at the root of the Christian spiritual tradition since the very beginning. In fact, I don’t know of any serious faith which does not regard asceticism as central. Restraining the appetites, fasting from food, sex and other worldly passions, limiting needs and restraining desires: this is the foundation stone of all spiritual practice. Without an ascetic backbone, there is no spiritual body.

What is all this for? Not to please God, who as far as we know sets no rules about what people should eat on Fridays, or has strong opinions about how many prostrations are appropriate every day. No, the purpose of askesis is self-control. Learning this will allow us to avoid the various pits and snares of life which knock us off the path that leads to holiness - wholeness - and onto the path which leads to pride and self-love. The literal translation of askesis is simply ‘exercise.’ Asceticism, then, is a series of spiritual exercises designed to train the body, the mind and the soul.

If the digital revolution represents a spiritual crisis - and I think it does - then a spiritual response is needed. That response, I would suggest, should be the practice of technological askesis

Substack The Abbey of Misrule 'The Neon God'

So my own attempt at digital askesis has begun, and I encourage everyone to find what works for themselves. Practically speaking, I downloaded the 'Dumb Phone' app and transformed my iPhone display into a simpler, less visually striking format.

I’m trying to listen and observe the world around me.

A few months ago, I was sitting on the boardwalk in Salthill, Galway. People passed me coming from left and right, each enjoying their morning walk, and most were chatting away in that way individuals do when they meet a friend or are out with the kids. I chose to listen in and allow the conversations to flow in and out. We have heard of forest bathing. Well, this was conversation bathing, and Ireland is a very fine country to do it in. A writer could gain a lot from such a thing. There’s a whole plethora of situations, relationships, and flashes of rich conversation simply passing you by.

Sitting on the boardwalk, I heard this:

Child: Laughter is the best medicine, Daddy.

Father: That’s right, son, laughter is the best medicine.

A moment's pause...

Child: But Daddy, I don’t think laughter would have helped Granny.

Ouch!! The father had no response to that. Such devastating logic. That child will be a successful lawyer if he chooses!

According to Julius Ceasar, the Celts are a people who love news. In Ireland, we have kept a large part of that inheritance in our DNA. Especially in the countryside. A bit of news is everything. We love some news, a little gossip, and we are always talking. Back in the day, a trip to town for market day had two primary intentions: one, sell the cow, and two, get the latest news. Therefore, I've been becoming more attentive to local news and focusing less on global news, whether it's from online sources or podcasts featuring some host telling me about some person I don’t actually know.

Attend to the world they say. It seeks to be admired.

In conclusion, dear reader, I want to say thank you for taking the time in your day to read my Substack. I mean that. There is one thing none of us are lacking these days, and that is ‘content’. So thank you for allocating a portion of your day to read what I am putting out there. I will keep posting every Sunday, and now, some 26 or so episodes in, I find this Substack is still growing and finding its feet. Though I can’t say exactly how, I sense it will take some new directions in the near future. I’m working on a short story at the moment as it happens (maybe it’s a novella, I don’t quite know). As a thank you, I’ll publish it here for free to all my readers when it is finished.

Also, I have a request to make. I would love to increase my readership. It currently stands at 56 subscribers (a few paid), and I have set the goal of reaching 100 by the year end. If you know anybody who might enjoy this content, I’d appreciate you sharing it on. All the content remains free to everyone, likewise everyone is welcome to support my work with a paid subscription, (Thank you those who are doing so) but it is certainly not obligatory. Enjoy it as you wish.

Also, I’d also love to hear your thoughts on each post. So please feel free to drop a message in the comment box. Even a hello and where you are reading from would be nice to hear.

That’s all for today.

Beannachtai

D