Touch grass

I told a friend on the phone the other day that I feel stuck in the digital world. I do most things through a digital medium. It seeped into my brain, my thoughts, my perceptions almost as if they all started to slowly transcend to the cloud. All my attempts to be creative and bring something new to existence are connected to IT. No surprise here, after all, I’m a software engineer.

But my issue is that in the digital space most things I see are products, services, and influencers trying to sell something, make a living out of absolutely anything, or people one-upping each other to promote themselves for their careers. This atmosphere intoxicated my brain to think that everything digital has to be a money-making machine. It’s a race against each other for profit and revenue.

Then I go outside into nature that fills me with joy, hope, and calmness. I see that the world around me is beautiful. People are nice to each other, they help each other, and enjoy each other’s company. They don’t always hustle, they slow down and rest if they need to. They do things out of fun. They practice not only to get better but for the pure joy of it, to have more fun if it’s even possible. Not for revenue, nor likes or views.

I’ve got nothing against profit, but the digital world made me look at everything as a possible revenue stream. Because anything can be, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be one in my life. It’s okay to leave room for the things that just simply make me feel alive. Things that make me feel good about life, about the world and others around me. Or simply make me feel good.

As I was watching people rollerblade dancing in Hyde Park, I tried to put it into words how it made me feel and what specifically caused that feeling.

I looked at them in awe, just pure awe towards both the novice dancers practising new moves and the more advanced ones honing their skills even further. They were all having fun. And me too. But I couldn’t pinpoint the feeling, I was out of words. Then I remembered. I don’t always need to define the feeling and the reason behind it. I can just let the feeling unfold and express itself through me. So I did exactly that. Sitting in the sun on the kerb in Hyde Park, sipping my lukewarm lemonade, watching people rollerblade dance and I just couldn’t wipe off the stupid smile of my face.

Wednesday, 27 May 2026