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Jacob Tie-Shue
The sea breeze whistles, whispers in the trees, kisses my forehead.
It is the breath, life, rejuvenating my senses as I taste the pure, saline air.
It is in this moment I wonder…. we set the air conditioning high in our
homes,
oblivious to the natural breath of life that blows high on the island.
Is it worth anything if technology keeps advancing? Even for a “better
lifestyle?”
Is it true technology is, in fact, suicide? Suicide that robs us from the
breath of life?
A hermit crab is perched before me, on a damp log, soaked by rain.
Sitting, waiting, minding its business.
Sitting, with only its simple, white shell for company.
Around the log, shells of all colors and of great sizes lay, sitting, waiting for
a new owner.
These homes beckon the crab, inviting a lavish and more plastic
beginning.
And yet the crab sits, not capitulating to the distractions that would alter
its simple way of life.
For the crab sits simply and with perfect tranquility.
As I inhale the delicate sea air, a pungent odor attacks my nostrils.
This is the smell of cans, boxes, and green plastic bottles, washed up on
the shore.
This is the byproduct of human ignorance and technological
advancement.
This is European colonization, forcing native peoples to succumb to
“civilized ways,”
To forsake the simple, familiar way of life..
This attack on the sublimeness and purity of nature does not have to
happen.
We need to avoid materialism and harmful side effects in nature.
We need to pay less attention to technological advances and pay more
attention to spiritual and natural advancement.
We need to live simply, just as this island in the Florida keys beckons,
that we may become closer to spiritual tranquility.
ShadowDancers
Felipe Urrutia (Digital Photograph)
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