The other day I was confronted by the most beautiful piece of knowledge while I was watching the movie “Into the Wild” based off of the book written by Jon Krakauer. If you have not seen this movie or read the book, here is a short synopsis.
The main character, Christopher McCandless, graduates from college and decides to go off the grid, like burn his social security card and everything. His goal is to make it to Alaska and immerse himself in the wilderness, completely alone. Along the way, he encounters all kinds of remarkable people from all walks of life.
His whole journey, he is so focused on making it to Alaska that he forgets to be satisfied with where he is at and who he surrounds himself with. At the very end, he realizes one profound thing:
“Happiness is only real when shared.”
-Jon Krakauer
We are all connected and the majority of true happiness is found inside each other.
In “Into the Wild”, Christopher wants to prove to himself that he can be completely self-reliant and does not need anyone to experience happiness. In that journey, he finds that the only time he experienced true happiness was when he could share that moment with someone else.
The world we live in is divided. We are divided by screens that keep us from focusing on what is right in front of us. We are divided by a world that builds relationships through a device. We have grown to rely on technology to bring us happiness when the only time we can experience true happiness, true bliss, true joy is when we are with one another. But how can we be with one another when we are separated by that divide?
Now, I am not saying we need to go back to 1764 and start writing with a quill and ink. There are amazing things about technology and we can use those things to enhance human connection, we just have to know how.
I encourage you to take out your earbuds when you walk around on campus or look up from your phone. Show someone you see them and make them feel more important than your need to scroll through Instagram. When you are with someone, be there, do not be somewhere else. Do not let technology be the thing that keeps us from feeling connected.
Just like Christopher had to realize he could not value principles over people, we have to do the same with technology. We cannot value technology above human connection because it is in human connection that we find true happiness.
