Lift Up Your Face

Finding freedom by opening your eyes.

In my day job, I teach computer science at a local high school. Which is super odd considering two things:

1. I went to school to be an addictions counselor and had no experience in computer science prior to becoming a teacher.

2. The remedies I suggest in the article, and the means by which you are reading this article, run in contradiction to the solution I am promoting.

This week my classes were doing a unit on Pixar and learning about how they use computers and 3D animations to tell their stories. As a capstone I like to show my favorite computer science-y movie Wall-E.

If you have never seen Wall-E, it is your classic: Robot finds only living plant on Earth, Girl Robot sent to Earth from the spaceship that has all the remaining humans who had to leave Earth because consumptionism and pollution made Earth uninhabitable by humans so they had to leave and float in space until new signs of life appear, Robot shows Girl Robot a plant he found, Robot Girl returns to spaceship with Robot to alert the Captain it’s time to go home only to be mutanied by the Autopilot…movie.

In fact it is one of my favorite Pixar movies they have made.

Today I want to talk about some of the lesser discussed characters in the movie…the humans. The spaceship has become a comfort utopia for all the humans on board. They have a never ending supply of “regenerative food buffet” (essentially a Golden Corral that spawns an endless supply of food). They don’t have to walk because their chairs take them anywhere they want to go. They all wear uniforms that can change colors depending on the day. They have robots that serve at their beckon call. And finally, they each have a holographic screen in front of their face that makes the pain of turning their head a thing of the past.

In light of all these advances in technology and comfort, the humans themselves have devolved to blobs of comfort creatures that have no muscles, less bone density, and a lack of all basic human skills and responsibilities. This has made them content to live their lives looking at their screens and allowing others to provide everything in life they might need.

And it is at this juncture to me sadly where fiction meets reality.

How many people do you know that are essentially running on auto-pilot?

Maybe their autopilot is the daily grind of daily living. Wake, shower, commute, work, commute, dinner, tv, sleep: Repeat. When routine overtakes any opportunity for spontaneity, curiosity, or adventure we can all start to feel like numb to our senses and forget how or why we started this journey to begin with.

More obvious to me is the reliance on technology and for other things that we used bear the responsibility. Texting rather than talking. Watching rather than reading. Video gaming instead of shooting hoops. And the one that hits closest to home for me is the dying art it takes for me to provide food for me and my family.

I’m not saying we all have to grow every fruit, vegetable, grain, and source of protein we eat…but it is a part of a group of skills that are slowly dying. I’d like to encourage us today that we should work on cultivating this skill before the skill disappears into the ether.

Today I am proposing three practical ways to help us lift our eyes out of our devices to learn and grow.

1. Unplug- The first step in getting sober is to stop the destructive behavior. I think a great first step is to start unplugging yourself from your digital devices. (Again, I see the irony in the fact that you are reading this e-newsletter on a device)

   In addictions counseling we would recommend a replacement therapy approach. Think about how many people quit smoking. First they replace the nicotine from the cigarette with either a nicotine gum or patch replacement. Then they gradually reduce these levels over time. Another thing they do is to replace the habit with something else. Instead of going outside on a smoke break, they walk to a new part of the building to buy a soda, or learn a new skill like crocheting, or designate that time to a certain chore. In order to change behavior you have to replace the physical stimulus and the habit.

   To unplug and detox from your device I have a few recommendations:

   1. Don’t get on social media during the daylight hours- Elizabeth started this a year ago or so and her life is much happier now. During the daylight hours she doesn’t check Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube. Instead she has replaced her mindless hours of scrolling with learning how to cook more, getting a few (hundred) new animals, and spending time with the kids. Spend a little time before bed getting caught up on the day on social media and you will discover over time that you really are not missing much.

   2. Delete some apps- This one might make me sound like Marie Kondo but it is time to go through your phone and delete apps the don’t bring you joy. I would recommend you start with kids games and social media apps. Tik Tok is not your friend. They are intentionally manipulating you to continue to look at them. If you decide to keep apps like this, set yourself some hard boundaries like time limits and block people whose content that is destructive.

2. Learn to cook a meal from scratch- This can be one of the most intimidating things for anyone to tackle. When I mean scratch…I mean scratch. You will need to learn some new skills in order to complete this, but it is so rewarding when someone bites into something they think is store bought and you get to proudly say, “ I made that.” I have seen Elizabeth do this many times and it has given her so much confidence to try tackling bigger meals.

   

   I would recommend you do a meal where you buy a whole chicken and break it down from a whole bird into pieces. This is a very valuable skill that will save you money and give you skills with a knife. If you are looking for a new recipe to try, check out our Elizabeth’s Home Cooking recipes here!

3. Have three in person conversations this week with someone you would have previously just texted- As we get older it becomes harder for us to develop new friendships. We get into a routine with people that we are comfortable with and rarely stray out of that lane. But what is worse is that we eventually don’t even physically talk to these people we text them occasionally. Texting is cool and has its place, but nothing can beat an old fashion conversation where you get to look people in the eyes and ask questions to get to know each other. I can’t begin to tell you how much better it is to LOL with a real person IMHO. (LOL=Laugh Out Loud, IMHO=In My Humble Opinion)

Luckily the humans on the spaceship had a major disruption to their comfortable lifestyle…Wall-E. Wall-E shows up and begins shaking things up by making them look away from their screens, talk to one another, and use their bodies in ways they hadn’t used them in years (walking)! I hope it doesn’t take making Earth uninhabitable for our generation to wake up and lift up their face.