Learning From Blades of Grass (Video Essay)

This time, the essay in in video format.

Is Oneness Still Possible in This Digital World?

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Let's face it; everyone faces the dilemma of staying tightly connected with his closest neighbors, families and friends and being left all alone with his gadgets.  Everywhere, we see people being with people and yet they do not talk with each other.  They are together, yes, but their togetherness is just physical --- the best part of connecting with another human being has been lost - gone - eaten up by our "want" to be virtually connected all the time.

Families sit at the table during meals and yet they do not connect emotionally and spiritually; their physical proximity is but a realistic antonym to their emotional distance towards each other. They dive their silverware into their heaped-up plates, sometimes in silence, their minds wandering towards notifications on FB, views at You Tube, private or secret messages on various IM apps and other physical connection encumbrances.  They finish their meals, their bodies are satiated and yet emotionally, they are as skinny as their spirits.

Let's all face it, this is everyone's reality as of the moment.  Parents can no longer connect to their children the way they should not because they do not want to but because these gadgets seem to provide an invisible barrier in between.  Children smile and laugh at their virtual friends whether through emoticons or through video calls, but they can not smile genuinely at the people who should matter most in their lives - their parents.  How pathetic this life has become when parents compete with non-living things for the attention of their precious children.

The lingering question is:  Is oneness still possible in this digital world?  Can one still feel his connection with another being, with the world around him, with nature and with the intangible gifts that God has given mankind?  Can man separate himself with his cell --- his gadget --- even for a few moments to establish or rekindle connection to everyone who matters to him?  You know as much as I do just how difficult this has become. You know as much as I do how emotionally tasking it is to try to establish connection and get shunned instantly because the internet is always a beckoning and friendly ally whose importance has become too great for those who have been hooked to it.

Like drugs, interconnectivity has plagued almost everyone --- myself included.  How ironic it is when interconnectivity has failed where it should matter most: CONNECTION. Without connection - genuine connection, oneness will never be possible; hence, without connection, oneness will be an elusive dream for humanity.