Some breather, please.

Living in an expensive buzzing city, sophisticated high rises, heavy traffic in both human and transport are easily witnessed with naked eyes. Musty back-to-back body odour using public transport, humidity, and invisible carbon monoxide on road can only be felt. The feeling of discomfort on our daily commute is inevitable. What are our choices?

To add, among a legion of people in the above context, probably more than half of them are glued closely to the new necessary of life, mobile phone screens. Unobserved radiation freely zip-zapping everywhere from all angles. News, texts, chat groups, emails, games are on fingertips, and they go on like never-ending credits script as seen at the end of movies. No one is talking, not even a simple hello. Everyone is hooked – on a screen of texts and images. Not to be underestimated, they are texts and images that are capable of evoking emotions in us. Probably the predeterminers of how the rest of our day would look like.

Headaches, dizziness, frustrations, and the lack of attention spent at presence. Where do we censure to? 

‘We have something to say’ becomes ‘we have something to text.’ It’s easier to text than to say, so we continue texting as a mean of saying. Even lovers love and hate, just by texting.

Saying takes courage, requires practices and thoughtfulness. One is more prudent especially when saying something face-to-face. Sometimes, we didn’t manage to say what we’ve intended to say because of fear. Texting takes courage too, in words form without confrontation risks. If there is a mistake, one can choose to hide and run, or even cover it by a word of ‘sorry‘. Texting can be easily taken for granted because it’s plain sailing.

From day to night, night to day with endless exchanges of messages can be overwhelming, disrupting on our daily life, and can sometimes turn sour. Even talking all day is tiring. Try reviewing your texts written during upset moments, you’ll be surprised and probably wish you never have typed it.

Our journey in this era is complex enough. Breather is what we need. 

“When you have nothing better to say, say nothing.” – Charles Caleb Colton

Likewise, when you have nothing better to text, text nothing.

Photo by Hernan Sanchez