Detox!

I regard my Facebook page with a weary eye. It's got the same posts - the clichés - recycled, re-posted and shared. Pictures of nature with italicized font on life that's supposed to make us feel better about our own.

I'm guilty of adding to the sliding news reel above the chat window. But when it's done and shared, I am tired of going through those posts again.

Why is everyone so hell-bent on figuring life out? Most of the people on my list are folks my age. Classmates, essentially. Talking about love in grand terms.

No, really. Stuff about wanting to shatter into a million pieces, melt in some imagined Lothario's arms and vaporising into air.

Eh, what?

(It would actually be pretty frickin' cool if people could do that crap)

I'm probably a blend of romantic and pragmatic (this is one of those rare moments when I admit it), with the latter trait telling me that for all the longing I've seen in young uns my age, they're either loving too intensely or getting too detached.

I find it odd that people are waiting to get hitched all their lives and when that happens, they sit together in a cow-like stupor, tapping away at their smartphones when they should be spending time with each other.

We are so busy doing so many things (and royally screwing them all up in the process) that we forgot to live in the now. The present.

I swear, two years ago my friends and I went off to Goa to attend a film festival. The four of us were (and are!) a close-knit bunch. But two in the group stuck to texting their boyfriends on the phone and took a huge chunk of the group-time by chatting endlessly with them.

What about us and our getaway? That was forgotten. I rue over the fun conversations we never had.

My friend and I were streched in our bed, watching the offending duo as they cozied up with their better halves (?!) on their hotline.

"This is so f**king stupid," said my friend.

I smiled. Considering that she herself had been out of an emotionally draining relationship, this was saying a lot.

I'd recently posted a status update on Facebook after watching a smartphone ad, where I noted that the characters in it were so engrossed with the world in their hands that they actually looked unsociable with the rest of the lot onscreen. Not to mention that fantastic sunset they missed out on, in the backdrop. The status was liked by all my friends who were probably browsing from their smartphones. And I had uploaded it from my phone, missing a few lines of a TV show in the process.

As you can see, I am not immune.

But admission is the first step to improvement. I keep my phone away during family time... or any time when I have physical company. Whether I like them or not, courtesy (and they) demands an acknowledgement and an attempt at conversation for the given time period. We need better conversation skills. Playing the PS3 together seems the only bonding point for a lot of people.

I'm actually ranting about all this from my phone. But again, in my defence, I'm all alone in my room, left to my devices. If anyone should walk in for a chat, I will be there to give a listening ear.

My whole point of the post is that you need to detox from the lure of technology. Gossip, research and porn can wait now and then.

You won't learn from life through a few nature posts. You need to go out and seize the day. If you're still reading this ramble, I thank you with all gratitude.

Now all you need to do is walk away slowly, wear a pair of sneakers and go for a walk.

Don't stop, don't talk, don't think.

Just walk.

Maybe ditch those earphones while you're at it.