Maybe This Is What I Need

The Typewriter Returns (with the cherry blossoms)

There is a big park at the end of my street here in Toranto, with a cluster of cherry blossom trees at either end. Most of the year that's a dormant fact; the trees are either bare or another clump of green shade.

But since last Monday they are a phenomenon, blooming once again into a frenzy of beauty. Each branch is completely blanketed in flowers, as if someone had gone and glued cotton balls to every limb coming off the trunk. Pure magic...

But the magic is hard to get to. A sea of content creation surround and suffuse the trees from every angle. Selfies galore. Drone shots.

Videographers and their influencers. Wedding and engagement shoots.

Tik Tokkers from Korea and YouTubers streaming live. They pose and pre preen and prance from every angle. They hold branches to get flowers by their faces. Some shake the limbs to make blossoms rain down. Social media rules all.

Everytime I walked by to look at the trees, there was some form of shoot going on. I like to stand under a tree and look up at the blossoms into the sky. But finding a spot was almost impossible. There were more times than not when I was the only person without a camera of some sort.

"Oh come on!" I said in frustration the other day, as a drone buzzed through the branches. "Enough already." My wife rolled her eyes. Not at the cameras. At me. "They're enjoying the trees however they want. It's a good thing." she said. And was right.

Cameras, screens, speakers, and digital tech can be infuriating, but sometimes you gotta chill on the judgement. People were out in a park celebrating the beauty of spring however they wanted. They were creative and romantic and energetic. And when I focused on the blossoms, they were no less stunning. It was a good reminder that the real world keeps on going despite the noise of the digital one. Don’t waste energy worrying about the later. Revel in the real, and take a picture if that makes you love it more.