Technology & Nature

This was actually written before my two previous entries, while sitting on the Tyntesfield Estate. However, until now it had been confined to my notebook...

Technology is amazing - it truly is. The discoveries and developments that have been made through increasing advances in human technology are truly awe-inspiring, even the ones which are massively destructive. The knowledge and collaboration (be it collaboration in the present or building on discoveries of those who came before) of the ever expanding population of the planet is a collective feat almost incomprehensible.

And yet.

My world and that of those immediately around me is increasingly dominated by virtual reality. Send an email - not a letter. Google it on your Smartphone instead of discussing it with those around you. Do some Wii fit instead of getting out and about, or simply having a life which, by default, includes physical exercise on a day to day basis. The list goes on.

I see a place for these advances and technologies but my concern is that they are swamping the public consciousness and squashing out the ways of doing and being that have been around for aeons.

Today I used technology (car and SatNav, let alone the technology that went into the clothes I'm wearing, the food I ate and the house I stayed in last night) to get to Tyntesfield, a National Trust property in North Somerset. Arriving early I had a quick chat to an administrator who advised "there's nothing really to do yet - except for enjoy the air". Which was exactly what I'd come to do.

I meandered off and have found myself sitting on a log. The log is part of a circle around a fire pit and is gloriously calm. I can hear the drone of traffic in the background (being only 15 min drive from Bristol) but I can also hear birdsong and the gentle movement of the woods. The occasional rustle as a bird lands or flies off. And what I find stunning is that I may be the only person to sit here today. Perhaps even all week. I understand there is plenty of "doing" to be done (harken the sound of light rainfall) and yet - is there really no space for getting out, pausing, and being amazed by the rest of nature "just getting on"?

This week my aim was to get to lots of places like Tyntesfield and enjoy the space. The freedom to wander and explore. To stop and breathe. To be inspired. (Hello Squirrel). I feel utterly ignorant of the scope and brilliance of the ecosystems of the UK, let alone the rest of the world, and from this conscious ignorance I can build and grow my knowledge - while getting to enjoy stunning grounds and the changing sky.

I feel incredibly lucky to find myself living by the sea and with time to get out into the countryside. And by immersing myself, perhaps that's one more step towards evening up the balance of Technology versus Nature.