Do you find yourself struggling to form or stay with an idea? Are you mentally fatigued from constant floods of information? Is your creative mind going soft from non-use? When you have a free moment, do you pick up your phone to mindlessly scroll, or do allow yourself to just be, dream, or reflect on your day? We’re so used to filling each and every second with technology, we no longer take moments just to observe; reflect; allow curiosity to stir within. Our imaginations need space to organically roam in order to thrive. Free mental space to reflect and be is becoming extinct.

Since machines and computers replace many daily human interactions, we’re losing our capacity to engage with one another. Few people answer phones, texting serves as dialog, email replaces tough or meaningful conversations. When someone’s truly hurting and needs to be consoled, social media posts pose as surrogates for compassion. Substantial life moments pass in a blur without recognition or acknowledgement because we’re too busy and overwhelmed. We’re losing the capacity for how to be with one another; how to share or express ideas in a way they’ll be heard. We’re losing a capacity to connect through communication, and our very sense of human connection.

Distant are days when someone wrote something, then celebrated the voice that came through. Now, creative ideas are run through A.I. to “improve,” them or “dilute” them. This isn’t to say that A.I. isn’t a helpful tool to articulate an idea; but what’s happening is the MORE reliant we become on such filters, the LESS we trust our OWN expression. The LESS willing or capable we are to LISTEN and ALLOW for our ideas to further develop. We’ve cut ourselves off from imagination’s engagement process, and creativity’s natural progression to evolve. How can we learn from a process of thinking and reflecting, if we no longer trust our own individual expression as valid enough?