It belongs to those who possess a natural, near-mystical, absolute ability – to apply themselves.

Taste the concept: to apply one self to something (note the choice of words; “one”, “self”). A conversation, a book, a thought. To stroll, haste, or force one’s way down an avenue of one’s own choosing. Uninterrupted and on target. Without consulting the vast information maelstrom of the Internet, without chatting to anyone on your messenger contact list. Not meditating, but focusing on a thought hard enough to be able to conceive something original. Original in the sense that it is purely yours, not in the sense that it has not of been thought of before; even if that indeed could be a by-product of that particular practice.

Once down you step down that road, once you break the waterfront of your mind, you will notice that the systems that normally serve to keep you alert – are not only a nuisance, but only keep you from focusing. Perhaps this will irritate you. Perhaps you will be drawn back to their vortex, perhaps you have the strength of conviction and character to wave them off. Apart from purely physical diversions – the room you’re in, the sounds that reach you, the level of your personal comfort and so forth – if you’re sitting in front of anything resembling a modern work station, chances are that its user interface is clogged with badly designed software that constantly steals your attention.

As our technology evolves at breakneck pace, our minds stay by the same yard stick, more or less immovable. Humans learn slowly, and if we are to engage in deep thinking and not just at a level of electromechanics of twitching muscles (playing games or scanning social networks, for instance) – not many of us have the capacity for other simultaneous distractions. If anyone truly does.

Technology has overrun us to the point of forcing us to multitask, not on our own terms – but on its own. The sentient, singular, machine is in fact already here – and there’s no putting it nicely: It’s making us dumb as bricks. Because humans do not multitask. Humans think best when they think vertically, focused and systematic. In fact, what enabled the human kind to evolve in the first place was the time freed up from chores – for thinking. We’re simply not built for deep thought while multitasking. Yet nearly all our modern technology presupposes that we are, thus closing the historical arc where man kind had time for thought to its declining para bole – the time where we’re sped through our informational riches at a pace where none of it makes much sense to us – once more making us less capable of thinking.

Information, the way it is fashioned in its modern, silicone form – is an organised attack on consciousness and personality.

The Internet has long ago ceased to compete with other channels of entertainment, like television or cinema – but now competes with just about everything else. The millions of users addicted (yes, addicted) to social networks or fictional online gaming communities are proof enough that there’s a cheap and easy route of escaping the pains of thought and creation. As the current of users increases, the masses participate in a sort of public dream, the effects of which are highly detrimental to the creation of their personalities. This public dream has become a form a technology driven reality-denying engine, separating its users from their natural environment and propelling them into a personality-shredding nightmare.

The users of the Internet are like children in candy stores, stuffing little bits of everything into their mouths, resulting in a digestive breakdowns.

One might, and should, argue that thinking is not for everyone. Indeed, it is not. But thinking can, and should – be taught. It should be taught in schools that as things stand today – do little or nothing to that effect. The curriculum needs to be redesigned in order to shift from the problem of information filtering to how to build a resilience against distraction. Children, and adults, need to be taught the art of attention management.

While it may be a wonderful thought that all humans are equal, it is the ability of some to focus that constantly disproves it. If we are to achieve that dream beyond its slogan value, the task should start with teaching the ability to apply one self.

And no. There’s no app for that.

“I think of the immutable, cold laws governing the cause and effect. You come to, amongst the wreckage of your own making. Do you shut your eyes, lie still and hope to bleed to death? Or do you scrape yourself together, crawl over the edge and keep walking?”

“Death, is inevitable. Our fear of it makes us play safe. Blocking out emotion. That, however, is a losing game. Without passion, you’re already dead”.

“With a difficult choice ahead – time slows down, you see it all, heartbreak and scars”.

“Now that I was with her, I was reluctant to hear her answers”.

“X was right. There are no choices. Nothing but a straight line. The illusion comes afterwards. When you ask, why me, why now. You look back and see the branches, like a pruned bonsai tree – or a forked lightning. Had you done something differently, it wouldn’t be you – it would be someone else looking back, asking a different set of questions.”

“A beginning, is a very delicate time”.

“Twist the drama of the play to get you by”.

“The devil grins from ear to ear when he sees the hand he’s dealt us
points at your flaming hair, and then we’re playing hide and seek
I can’t breathe easy here, less our trail’s gone cold behind us”