We’re all living inside the Matrix

Entertained by AI-written stories

Oblivious to the harm data centers are doing 

Looking for the next shiny thing

To make us more productive

As if we need to be more productive

We are already the most productive nation on earth

Working long hours

Not taking vacations

Working through lunch

We drive ourselves into the ground for things we don’t even need

And then hire people to help us manage the clutter

We Google and Google and Google some more

We have access to more information than any generation before us

Yet we don’t know what to do with it 

We are drowning in information 

But can’t seem to find wisdom

We numb ourselves with streaming services

Take vitamins because we are no longer spending time outdoors 

Buy massage chairs to manage the stress

Looking like something out of Wall-E

I feel like there have been enough Terminator movies

To warn us of what’s next

If we continue to live as if these choices don’t matter

Becoming so dependent on machines 

We live like dialysis patients

Attached to our phones

Unable to look away

We give our kids unfiltered access to everything 

And then pay for their therapy 

Surprised at the rates of depression and anxiety

As if we had nothing to do with it

The next great cataclysm won’t be a flood of water

But a drought of it 

As our machines drink up all the water

And we thirst for authenticity

Unlike Neo, we have chosen to take the blue pill

to live inside the Matrix

Lulled to believe that this way of living is normal

Hitting the gym to try and make up for the other 23 hours a day we are living a half life

I long for something real 

Authentic

To breathe the fresh air 

To forget my smartwatch

Ditch my phone

And live a different kind of life

The aching need for a digital detox is real

As I breathe in and out

Watch the mama duck with her ducklings

Listen to the whispers of the trees 

Marvel at the delicate hardiness of long-stemmed daisies 

The vibrant orange of the tiger lilies finally blooming

Being in nature is like taking the red pill

Reminding ourselves of what is real

Listening to the still small voice we’ve muffled with our earbuds and Spotify playlists

Remembering each day is a gift

Our next breath not a guarantee 

What will you do with your one wild and precious life?

The choice is yours

And mine

As I turn off my phone