Camping

We went camping to rejuvenate our own inner awareness away from the daily routines of reliance on technology and conveniences such as beepings of microwave and switch that flick lights and appliances on and off.

Crawling in and out of the thin little tent that kept us dry during the downpour and lighting up tiny stove were the major daily tasks.  Apparently our presence annoyed the chip monk with his own burrow in the middle of our camp site.  I bribed him with peanuts and soon he left us alone.  He stayed away from the picnic table.  While the chip monk stayed away from us, the verdant trees, screeches of birds, tall cloud and breeze moved closer to us.  No walls around us except the thin, light synthetic tent at night.  We had a neighbor from Manhattan, NY, with a few tents to accommodate their three little boys.

And then there were rumbling noises of a truck towing a behemoth fifth wheeler.  The partner got out of the truck and started to direct the driver to fit into the assigned campsite.  After a few tries of back and forth with some yelling and running, the camper was settled and detached from the truck.  The fifth wheeler stood on its own props spreading both wing to enlarge the interior space.

We travel for different reasons, some with long umbilical cords of conveniences and some for less.  I have camped in a behemoth fifth wheeler with all the comforts we may need or not.  I found myself repeating the daily routine regardless the geography of the scene, history or people around.  I was hiding behind the walls of fifth wheeler making sure all my petty do’s and don’ts without missing a beat like making morning coffee, taking shower, cleaning and so on.

Comfort is addictive, and the addictive nature is invasive like seeping water, and even this tech rich era can’t build a wall to keep us dry.  While the technology strives to meet all the minute daily needs of our life, but without limits of its use it also becomes invasive.  We become robots repeating daily routines devoid of imagination.

Does the unbridled use of technology make life shallow and hollow?