nature's zodiac

Two Harry Nilsson songs in a row on the radio? Is it my lucky day?

I have adored Harry Nilsson ever since hearing his classic, “Without You” , a song of such sincerity, and drama– the strings valiantly echoing his sentiments as they build to operatic heights!

This wonderful radio show that celebrates rock-and-roll birthdays is two hours long. I brought the little transistor radio outside while my son and I played basketball HORSE. Wafts of Nilsson’s rendition of “As Time Goes By” permeated each joke and magic micro-moment. I remember playing HORSE all the time as a kid. The mid-morning spring air was cool, and the sun was gently bright.

I recognized that I was in the midst of an experience rich in “high-bandwidth connection.” This kind of connection is nuanced, social, reflective, and meaningful. It is contrasted with the low-bandwidth connection of scrolling social media or passively consuming content. This high-bandwidth connection is inherently romantic. There is a kind of invisible force, call it love, that unites all of these elements: the radio, the laughter, the memories, the blue sky.

I had just heard this term on a podcast featuring author and computer scientist professor, Cal Newport on digital minimalism.

Instead of suggesting a digital detox, he proposes changing the ecosystem, using the internet as an optimizing tool for high-bandwidth connections. Find what you really love, brainstorm how you can explore this in the “real world” as well as the digital one, and see if you can add a social element or a pinch of nature. It really is doable, and the payoff is so evident.

There are countless creative possibilities for this. A walk in the park can become more nuanced with learning about the history of its space. A search on Pinterest can bring dynamic and colorful snacks to a kids party. Ideas can lead to books which lead to podcasts both of which can be enjoyed outdoors. The count will always be infinite. That is the essence of technology’s generativeness.

Hearing Nilsson on the radio was especially synchronicitous because we had just watched Popeye the other night, Robert Altman’s strange and wonderful masterpiece starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, with a soundtrack written entirely by Harry Nilsson.

In the film, one of the most interesting characters is actually the town itself, in its wholeness. The whole town is always keyed into the action of the moment, whether it is Bluto growing impatient to see Olive Oyl or Popeye rowing into town as a new stranger in the rainy night. Everyone is reacting, exchanging looks, running about in comic confusion. It is a pre-digital landscape. They are all involved in the scene. Nobody is looking down into their hand; no one is off to the side. They swirl together like a murmuration of birds.

It is no use lamenting the pre-digital age; it is only useful to recognize why we lament it. We lament a steadier dose of rich, high-bandwidth connection, often generated from something as simple as sharing a real atmosphere with others.

The atmosphere has changed into one that not only provides air, light, and companionship, but also the invitation for super-informational powers always within reach.

Yet, ultimately it is a creative invitation to embrace: to use our generative powers to create better conditions and opportunities for the rich connections that our spirits crave.

We refresh and regenerate ourselves and each other through the generative use of our minds and hearts.

“The fundamental things apply, as time goes by…”