I believe what I'm going to describe is part of simple living because it involves putting down the tech and engaging the real world. It has been a mission of mine for the past few months to engage more in the 3-D world of real people and to do so while holding down a full-time boring office job and just in general being an ordinary person.
I think a lot of people feel a sense of alienation in our culture. I'm not a facebook/twitter/gaming/smartphone (ab)user but I am a homebody and an introvert and I do spend too much time reading things on my computer. I do sometimes feel alienated and like time just passes day after day, week after week, year after year with no point and no light at the end of the tunnel. So I have been trying to actually do more things that involve being out in the real world interacting with real people.
I have noticed that when I do spend time in the real world, afterward, even if the thing I did wasn't particularly amazing, I feel happier, more hopeful, more connected to real life, more in tune with the general goodness of life and other people.
For example, I've gotten involved with an activist group a few times and it gives me hope and makes me feel like I'm involved, not just worrying. Even though my participation level has been pretty minimal and non-committal so far.
Another example, I got an invite last night to participate with some friends in an open-mic night at a bar. I'm an early bird, not a night owl but I thought I should go anyway. I had fun. It felt good to make other people happy (people actually danced). I felt more connected to my friends and my community and less like yet another day was wasted just going to work, going home and going to bed.
I highly recommend trying this for yourself.
Submitted March 24, 2017 at 01:15PM by sbhikes http://ift.tt/2nkTWoP
