Daily Nourishment for April 29: The Very Reason That I Write
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 50 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 10 minutes
“The very reason that I write is so that I might not sleepwalk through my entire life.” - Zadie Smith
Pause.
Take six deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale. Then go outside and take six more deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale.
Prompt.
Read the quote above by Zadie Smith a few more times. Say it aloud once or twice, too.
Practice.
Set a timer for seven minutes, and take notes on:
—What it looks like for you to sleepwalk through life
—When you are tempted to sleepwalk through life
—When you’ve had no choice but to sleepwalk through life
—How your writing practice keeps you from sleepwalking through life
If you like, use your notes to begin a new poem, story, essay, or letter to a friend.
Want More?
Here’s more from Zadie Smith on social media from a 2018 interview:
You have been sceptical about things like Twitter and Instagram in the past, as you value your “right to be wrong”. Do you worry about what social media is doing to society?
My worry is narrower: myself, my family. I can’t stand the phones and don’t want them in my life in any form. They make me feel anxious, depressed, dead inside, unhinged etc. But I fully support anyone who finds them delightful and a profound asset to their existence! Different strokes for different folks.
The societal question is more complex, although I think it’s users themselves and not luddite abstainers like me who are best placed to speak on it. But as you’re asking… Maybe it’s time to speak a bit more honestly to ourselves about how we’re using this technology. Avoiding self-deception – that’s the hardest bit. You have to get off the defensive, out of the public argument and just sit in a corner with yourself and do a frank accounting. What is this little device in your pocket doing to your intimate relations with others? To your behaviour as a citizen within a society? Maybe nothing! Maybe it’s all totally cool. But maybe not?
I’m not delusional – I don’t envision people casting their devices en masse into burning bins any time soon. (And I’m as addicted to my laptop as any user of an iPhone.) But perhaps a reassessment is due, along rational lines. Do we really need to be online for 27 hours a week? (This is the latest figure for teenagers, but it grows crazily with each year that passes.) Do we need the internet in our pocket at all times? Do we need it resting by our pillows at night? Do our seven-year-olds need phones? Do we wish to pass down our own dependency and obsession? It all has to be thought through. We can’t just let the tech companies decide for us.
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Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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