Refreshing Freshwater.

 I might not have participated in the Olympics, but during the marathon, I made dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and washed the dishes—a record time!

I have buckets of respect for Olympic athletes, but I didn’t watch much of it. I also try to put in ‘personal best’ times for chores, and I have some writing to get done. The garden also needs some TLC, so sitting in front of the television admiring the strength and endurance of athletes won’t help me.

What I do enjoy are the interviews with the medal winners. Hearing how much training and effort they put into getting this far reminds me that there are times when we all need to develop some of that discipline to improve or train ourselves for our favourite hobbies or jobs.

So, I’m trying to spend less time in front of the screen, whether it be on TV or idly scrolling social media pages on my phone. The time that we waste on endless streams of (let’s be honest) trivial B.S. doesn’t help us at all. 

I enjoy gardening and performing stand-up comedy. Both require knowledge and discipline. Gardening knowledge is gained only through research, followed by trial and error and work. Comedy requires giving yourself time to stare, think, and write—lots of writing. 

With the arrival of social media and the internet, our ‘free time’ has been put under enormous pressure; in our pockets, we carry machines that are a porthole into the total knowledge acquired in the history of homo sapiens - everything, it’s all there. Still, dogs and cats are also on skateboards, and humans are falling off things. We can use it to learn; we can also use it to blank out the ‘real world’ by endlessly and aimlessly scrolling. All alone in our bubble, we scroll; scrolling has turned us into people with addiction; we are hooked on being isolated from actual human contact. Breaking an addiction is hard, but it’s something I (we) need to do. 

This summer, my wife and I spent two weeks in a village or settlement called Freshwater (Carbonear) in Newfoundland. We met people who, without knowing, made us think about how we ‘urbanites’ seem blissfully unaware of how we let our lives slip by and how far we have become distanced from our ‘humanness’. 

Freshwater is a small community, and thanks to our Airbnb hosts Andrew and Ingrid, who are inspiring with their life stories and exploits, I could listen for hours to their tales; we met many others in the community. Andrew is a retired Vet and author of some exciting and entertaining books (look up Andrew Peacock), plays guitar, has a comprehensive brain in music, and kayaks (or is it Canoe?) He also finds time to help organise the community Church and get-togethers. Ingrid, a retired Doctor, has more energy than a three-year-old on steroids; she also plays the harp, Piano and probably much more. Then there were ‘the others’, ‘The Daves’, Jennifer, Jake, Bonny, Belinda, Clive and many more whose names I forget, they all sing, play instruments, make jam, paint, fish (I mean the real deal). They build their houses and are pretty good at what they do. I couldn’t help thinking, where do they get the time? And do they ever rest? Of course, I had forgotten that doing something you love and enjoy is not ‘work’. It is a form of relaxation and even meditation. 

While in Freshwater, we were invited to a BBQ at a house (I think one of the ‘Daves’); we hardly knew anyone, but it’s been a long time since we felt so welcome and ‘part of it’. People sat around talking and listening to each other, singing, dancing and creating a feeling of acceptance for everyone there. Nobody, not one, was texting or scrolling; a good time was had, and I felt that ‘life karma’ or call it what you want, had brought us here to witness how things can, could and should be. I thank the community of Freshwater for that. 

It’s been three weeks since we left Newfoundland. We have agreed that it was our best vacation ever. The week we spent in St Johns was also great, but Freshwater has given us something else. 

So, sorry Netflix, you Tube and Instagram, I’ll still use you but no way will I be letting you use me and my precious time.