I went for a walk the other day and didn’t bring my phone. I
am trying to wean myself off Pokémon Go so I travel to the Stone River Nation
Battlefield and walk among the trees and limestone rocks and think about the
people who died and what that may have been like. I also think, un-wantonly, about
all the Pokémon that I am not seeing amongst the trees and rocks. I force it
from my mind as I walk early in the morning to avoid the heat. Instead I think
of the peripatetic philosophers that make walking their life. Especially the Cynics.
Upon first discovering the Cynics and their view on hardship. It reminds me of
the Buddha and hi desire to rid himself of all material possessions in order to
have more tranquility, more peace. Diogenes watching a child scoop up water with
his hands only to proclaim that he had been outdone, tossing his wooden
makeshift cup aside. Now that he had one less thing to lose, one less thing to
carry.
One less burden...
I am often burdened by the things that I have, as well as
the things that I do not have. Perhaps more by the things that I don’t have. AS
I walk I think of the Native Americans or perhaps my own distant relatives the
Scottish Picts. How even into the English Enlightenment they lived like nomadic
“savages”, herding sheep and living off the land in a subsistence lifestyle. I
recall reading that during the developing of the United States, many of the
English that moved to America where trying to build farms and shops in order to
establish themselves financially. During this exact same time the Native
Americans and Scots and Scots/Irish that settled in the Appalachian mountain
range were still living subsistence lifestyles. Having no need nor desire to
build wealth, but to live simply and simply be left alone.
I continue walking along the path. I see no one and am seen
by no one. The animals chatter in exited tones about the trespasser in their midst.
I don’t need anything while I walk. I carry nothing. This time not even my
phone. I remember before I had a phone. I remember before anyone had a cell phone.
They existed then, back in the early 1990’s. My father had one and no one knew
what it was and assumed he was talking to himself. Now I find myself addicted
to it, Pokémon Go only exacerbated this issue.
I come into the final stretch of the battlefield. It’s the
worst part of the circuit. It is a road with nothing alongside of it except the
occasional tall grass. Is this similar to not possessing anything? Do I not now
possess less visual landscape? It’s a confusing situation that find myself in
quite often.
You've ended on a note of confusion, which is only appropriate given the James quote we closed the course with: "nothing has concluded... no advice..." etc. But you've also empowered yourself with the skill of walking free of addictive dependency on things (Phone) and behaviors (compulsive gaming). Or maybe you've transferred dependency to walking itself, which I'd call a positive addiction. I think it's ok to pick up the phone again, and occasionally search for colorful little fictions. You don't have to go Full Diogenes.
ReplyDeleteI'll look for you guys on the battlefield. Good luck!