No lights with tealights.

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair.
                                                                                 - Khalil Gibran


 At 8.30pm on 29th March, the UAE became involved in a worldwide movement known as Earth Hour. As an attempt to tackle climate change households, businesses, and individuals are encouraged to switch of all sources of unnatural light for one hour. It was this particular event that shed light upon another topic - technology.

Let me recreate the scene that unfolded before my eyes to help you understand the nature of this topic. I was sitting in my usual spot in a bar when tealights were placed upon each table, the lights were flicked off, and the televisions no longer played the monotony sport of football. As odd as it seemed, the atmosphere was quite romantic - that is if you looked past the a collection of guys drunkenly raising their voices in a dark corner. For that one hour it felt nice to take a step back from reality. Yet it made me wonder; what would happen if the world shut off more than the lights? Would the world crumble around us, or would humanity adapt to the change. Evidence in my surroundings would support the former. It had only been five minutes and the majority of those present, including myself, resorted to using a mobile phone as a source of light or entertainment. Five minutes. That was all it took.

What had happened to the days were we weren't glued to some form of technology: mobiles, laptops, Ipads or Ipods. Is life really that bad that we need to check our messages within every second that passes? Is it too hard to talk to someone face-to-face? Is it too  difficult to put pen to paper and send a letter? Today's society would say yes it is. No-one has time to send letters instead of texts. No-one wants to take the risk of knocking on someone's door and speaking to them in person.

It shocked me that in the UAE, children as young as three have been introduced to and/or using some form of technology. Are we that engrossed in it that it has now ruled our lives. It is kind of hypocritical of me to type about such a topic when I had been texting throughout the writing of this post, but it further proves my point. We would not survive living in a world with no technology, no means to communicate faster. Socialising no longer exists in the original sense that it was meant to be. Could we ever go back to how we were before technology was given such power. Probably not.

The tea-lights have now burned themselves out and the power has been restored.

AAnd And And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/khalilgibr387063.html#6fOw9vq8RCFR7xVm.99

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/khalilgibr387063.html#6fOw9vq8RCFR7xVm.99

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/khalilgibr387063.html#6fOw9vq8RCFR7xVm.99

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/khalilgibr387063.html#6fOw9vq8RCFR7xVm.99

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/khalilgibr387063.html#6fOw9vq8RCFR7xVm.99