Among other things, my friend Tom Mulally is an American expat living in Bali, Indonesia. We both met at a restaurant here in Seminyak.
He’s got a wonderful and enthusiastic personality, he’s astonishingly well-travelled, and he’s also one of the biggest evangelists for personal freedom on the planet. We’ll definitely be talking more about Tom in the days to come.
Well, he’s got some interesting ideas on how people can better utilize our current technology to reconnect our minds with the natural world even though we don’t have the chance to be physically present with nature.
Ideas I agree with as well; it’s pretty much what this blog is about.
Interesting notion? Here’s what he has to say:
Letting Technology Renew Our Connection to Nature
by Tom Mulally
Beauty of the natural world also functions as a natural fix to the stress and sometimes unhealthy aspects of our modern lifestyles. It’s ironic that our amazing technology, while giving us new tools to transform our lives and our world, can also leave us tethered for too many hours a day in front of a computer screen or behind the wheel of a car.
Some have said that we need to develop a new skill in order to live better. It is so easy now, if we are not careful, to get bogged down in all the details and demands that our technology, especially the computerized environments in which we spend so much time and often earn our living, places upon us.
More than ever before, we must make a conscious effort to balance all this technology with encounters with the natural world. It is in our nature to interact with environments that are not man-made, and we ignore this aspect of ourselves at our own peril.
Okay so you live in a city and today, like most days, you’re pretty sure that it would be the best thing for your paycheck if you would stay at the office, just as your employer expects you to. You may be able to let loose when the weekend comes or during a holiday, but realistically who has the ability to go and “interact with nature” as often as they’d like?
I just want to remind people with this short article that this is an area in which our technology can actually be of some additional service to us. If our bodies are stuck in a cubicle our minds most certainly do not need to be. After all, the power in the computer you have in front of you and your Internet connection can give you at least visual access to places you might never be able to go even if you did have the time.
Spend a few minutes gazing at a webcam showing an ocean shore, or the Swiss Alps. Read a story about trekking through the Himalaya by someone who’s actually visited there, and allow your mind to consider for a few moments at least, that you too can witness their majesty one day if you really want to.
Lots of websites have as their focus the natural surroundings that so many of us sorely miss in our everyday lives. Spend a little time with them, allow your mind to wander, and one day your body might follow.
In the meantime even if you did not leave the office, it must be healthy to give yourself an overt reminder that you’re more than an operator of machines, that you are ultimately a natural being with a much much wider perspective than a cubicle can show you.
13 Comments
hi
explore bangladesh,it has lots of natural beauties which are worth projecting.
thanks.
Dear John & Tom !
You have a great concept. ESCAPE from the daily hassle, or boredom. or even depression is available at the click of a button. It s strange that so many people have not caught on to this fantastic alternative.
John, you are a pioneer. Your work may even already have saved the life of depressed souls
that were on the brink of suicide, but found hope again in your beautiful images that reminded them that this world is much bigger that the “situation” in which they are at present living. Please continue with your good work , which I think is very important for humanity.
As you have mentioned Tom we truly need contact with nature again, even if it is only on our screen and loudspeekers.
Good luck, there are millions of people that need this stuff !
Cheers from,
Evan
@abu – thank you for suggestion! Actually, we’re heading towards India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh hopefully next March / April to do some shooting there. Can you suggest a few spots maybe?
@Evan – Thank you. We are all pioneers. We’re all in this together. Thank you for your boost of energy and your kind thoughts! I will work HARDER!
i suggest you to include sound alon wit the picture ,that would be awesome.thanks.
Dear John & Tom,
A very enlightening article ! We spent too much time nowadays with earpieces a
permanent feature on our heads or eyes permanently glued to computer screens so
much so we are not aware if its rain or shine outside! I am quite a naturalist myself
as I try to spend time near rivers,quite places with shady trees, love the ocean and
beaches.Most of the time doing such things by the lonesome.Present craze now is to
spend coupla days in Tibet or even the Yukon !While we may be able to ‘connect via
the computer (modern tech) nothing beats the “in-situ” mode.Your senses are not
stimulated, only your eyes and imagination.
I am living that life because that was my plan in the beginning.
I am wealthy yet I have no money.
I am healthy and only seldom do I see my doctor.
I live alone but not lonely, I have two poodles.
I visit at the library and connect on the computer, which budgets my time.
I walk my pups where we chase stuff, balls, blowing leaves, squarrels.
We watch birds fly and wonder why, so many others can’t find their happy place.
I know who I am because Tarotnames revealled it to me and I became that which I created.
By knowing who I am I know what I am.
hi John, happy new year, thank you so much for the beautiful emails, photos and comments. Yes i do agree more than 100%, with the nature concept…i was just thinking today about a nice swiss alps photo, living in australia . we had lots of heat, even i adore the beach and the sea, I am very fond of bali, i nee a change in landescape.
Again thank you and is wanderful.
Vali
Hi John and Tom, for those who are unfortunate enough to have to spend their day in front of a computer screen I think this is a great idea. Let the mind travel as the body remains in situ. I am blessed to live beside the beautiful river Shannon, which is teeming with natures bounties, ie..fish, flora and wildfowl. It is a beautiful place so peaceful and relaxing. While pictures of those beautiful scenes are wonderful and help us to transcend the monotony of the daily office grind, it is difficult to capture the effervescence that mother nature instills on our emotions. Still imagination is a very powerful thing and beautiful images help us enjoy that which we are unable to experience in person. Well done John and Tom for your inspiring ideas. Thank you, Robert.
It’s just brilliant to be able to experience a couple of moments of calm using technology. John ,quite simply your plan meets it’s objectives. As a mini meditation it’s very refreshing. I love the lifestyle you lead and would like to see more of these wonderful sights for real, in the meantime I am delighted to see it virtually from your films on this site. By the way loved the 5 + 1 ways suggestions all wonderful life skills in my view!! Kind regards to all the wonderful contributers and happy New Year Frances@lifeskillspractitioner.com and lifeskillsswindon.com wishing you
I really enjoyed the sunrise video, thanks. Your new idea seems to be another winner,.. get away for a few mins a day to refresh yourself.
I thought I’d be bold and suggest something that has always been a favorite of mine. I can really get engrossed into a scene when it is closer at hand,.. not so far away. I love the photos of being in a forrest, (etc.) and looking at the trees and wildlife as if I were actually standing there, feeling it, seeing it, hearing it, smelling it. Imagining I could reach out and touch it if I wanted to. If you could actually put motion into that scene too, it would be mind blowing.
Thanks for all you do! Be safe in this new year. Beth
@beth : great suggestion! we’ve got something like that coming up! Stay tuuuuned
Hi Tom,
I have loved traveling the world….so much to breathe in during our short time on this Earth. I LOVE to copy write – so if you ever want a scribe for your breathless beauty, please write me at my personal email at RiverRunner0904@gmail.com.
Take great care,
Tera
I am totally agree. My inner connection with mother earth depends on my interaction with natural world. I cannot be a complete being, without my natural connection. Now today is our most relevant concern.
I thanks to Secret Scenery, for such a great work, you´re doing, and for sharing it
Thanks and regards