Enkhjin Gansukh
Its Labor day weekend and I dive into my usual routine of when I have free time. I’m at my computer with my phone on the desk nearby and I load up reddit on my computer. The top trending post I see, a mass shooting in Texas. “You could be saving hundreds a month” another repeat ad I scroll past. A news link to what to expect for hurricane Dorian. A headline starting with “Trump” which I don’t even bother to glance at. An amazing artwork one I couldn’t even dream of producing submitted by someone with the title “My little free time project”. A short gif of a puppy following a bigger dog to cuddle with. An ask reddit thread where strangers answer questions. I spend a few minutes reading a thread titled “What is the best thing that happened to you in truth or dare?”. Facebook messenger notification dings on my phone and my computer as my friends in Mongolia text me. I quickly learn all of Mongolia is on break due to Vladimir Putin visiting my home country. A sudden trailer for a new movie “Joker” interrupts my music that was playing on Youtube in the background that I was using to drown out the sound of construction. Another friend messages my through a video game client asking to play and I’m immersed in the game for the next 20 minutes to an hour with short uses of my phone in between during downtime in the game.
Its 4am in my hotel room in Vancouver. A short 2 day trip I had planned about a month ago. I had planned to take a hike to see the sunrise over the city of Vancouver. As I’m about to leave I remember an assignment, so I grab a pen and little notepad from the from desk reception and head out. The hike trail was recommended to me by a friend who is a Vancouver local. The trail is 3km or 1.8miles and about 3000ft upwards. It’s a bit chilly as a bit of fog settles on the mountain as I start to walk up and start my stopwatch. The 1st few minutes quickly pass by as I warm up from the movement. I realize the absolute silence I am in, nothing but the sound of my footsteps and my breath. As I walk in further, as the light of almost dawn breaks in the sound of insects, birds, and small critters of sorts start to fill the area. I’m hallway up the mountain and I can see that I will soon be above the fog of the lower mountain. I encounter a squirrel on my path but it didn’t run away at the 1st sight of me like the city squirrels I see and didn’t even seem the slightest bit phased as I walked past. As the sun comes up rays of warmth and light shine through the gaps in the trees, a comforting feeling as the dark of night is pushed out of the forest. The rest of the way up is quite the same and I only encounter 2 other people. I reach the top to see the sun just as it came up over the horizon. A view still well worth the hike. I check my stopwatch on my wrist and the time shows 1 hour 9 minutes and 41 seconds.
Reflecting back on these 2 experiences the biggest difference I see is the noise. Living in the city surrounded by social media most of the time I’m using other forms on noise to drown out other noises. As for my social media use it could definitely be turned down a good amount. I noticed that not every day there is “new” News. There isn’t a new crisis or big event everyday mostly just updated or a different angle to a story. I always try to go outside everyday even briefly and go to a park or a hike trail at least once a week. Being in nature gives your mind to relax, to take a break, to disconnect from all the noise. Time spent away from all the technology we have is almost like meditating, giving your mind a chance to filter out the unnecessary info. It’ kind of like cleaning your room. Your mind will get flooded with junk in this day and age we live in but time in nature is a way to clear out the unneeded.