Artificial Reality

Will love find a way?

Artificial Reality

We who have lived in the world before the internet and also the world after, realize there’s a completely different energy to life today vs before. There were awesome and shit times back in the day. There are awesome and shit times today. But there are very major differences in how we pursue life, and in our interaction with one another.

My childhood appears to me in flashes of images, and waves of emotion. Moments spent interacting with my friends and family are encased in the amber of my DNA. I see the colors, feel the vibe, smell the smell, and remember the intensity of emotions I felt.

When I started working I had to be able to speak to develop relationships and build my business. This was done in person, or by telephone. It would actually piss people off if you didn’t make an effort to visit them in person, or at a minimum, pick up the phone and call. I enjoyed talking to people and making friends.

Somewhere along the cyber highway of life, we got comfortable interacting digitally; first email, then instant message and text. It’s hard to create visceral memories through a screen as opposed to face to face. “Hey, remember that email I sent you for your birthday? Boy, that text message you sent with the love emoji really touched me deeply…” You get the picture.

It’s easy to see why we’ve come to prefer email and text. It’s faceless and egoless. It takes away the chance to get it right or wrong in the moment. On the flip side, it’s also easier for people to type back…..no thanks.

As we’ve raced ahead, our attention spans have shrunk. We demand immediate information and instant gratification, as we craft “content” and cultivate our “brands.” What began in creativity is quickly becoming an AI generated, inauthentic fantasy. We pose and stage the life we want the world see (many times, as opposed to the one we’re living). We try to “game the algorithm,” and “making it” is when you’re dubbed finally an “influencer.”

I had a vivid dream about living in this world. It started in reality, but then dissolved into a video game where we are avatars working, grinding, hustling, and struggling to stay alive. In this world we seek attention and validation, but rarely are we present in our physical space. We constantly devour information, yet we feel like we don’t know what’s true or false. We just keep scrolling, texting, working and moving.

“Artificial Reality” is the soundtrack I composed to that dream (or nightmare). It’s portrays kind of the hustle-bustle of modern, digital life.

Yet, I have great hope that the inherent love and goodness of people will always prevail. I see these times as days of a great awakening. I feel it and see it all around me, in my loving friends and family. It gives me hope. Love is everything! It’s the connection to the source, to goodness, to community, and our only hope for salvation. Simple and profound, it’s the same today and at all times, as The Beatles said.….”All You Need Is Love.”