The screen- it’s always a challenge. Sold to us like digital heroin, it does just that- sedates the hours away until bedtime followed by a restless night’s sleep from a lack of exercise. It’s addictive- kids want nothing else other than to stare at the screen, the bright lights, the games, the easily accessible excitement. Sit with a book? You must be joking. Get out and enjoy the crisp, cold air. Not likely!

That’s taken to an extreme but it’s thoughts such as these which preys on pretty much every modern parents’ mind. Even so in Redpilled communities where we often extol the virtues of the ‘off grid’, monk-like, manly pursuits: hunting, camping, fishing (above even lifting in some circles) - the very best of any outdoor pursuits in fact. Without a doubt these are fast becoming forgotten in modern society- demonised even. Any kind of free, nomadic lifestyle seems to be firmly in the crosshairs of the New World Order as they seek to count and harness every individual into their digital work camp. So it affects everyone- we have to work harder at creating opportunities to experience and appreciate the true freedom in the Great Outdoors.

So despite my hands wringing today as the Amazon burns, I can still take a bit of issue with it all- let me explain why:

First of all, the whole idea of true ‘freedom’ in the outdoor spaces. It was never really this way. Freedom always has a containing context. We are never truly free. We live on a planet with finite dimensions, getting smaller all the time as our numbers increase.

No man is an island and it never was so. In fact, as I rocket towards 50, I can still never remember a time where I was not faced with the challenges posed by life and other people. Like everyone else, I dreamed of a place where I could go and be left alone- be one with nature. It never happened- not for more than a short time anyway- even when I escaped abroad there was never ever a chance of real freedom- only temporary.

What’s worse, the whole idea of escaping from myself and my ‘monkey mind’ was negatively impacted by my desire to be in the wild blue beyond- more unhealthy escapism- hiding from our cruel modern world. Creating the walls of my own prison by establishing what I cannot stand, creating boundaries on the wrong side such that I insulated myself away from life, giving myself only the chance to run away from it. The solitary Great Outdoors is not a solution- it’s just another fantastic way to relax, recoup and return.

Since 2003 and the Iraqi conflict, we have been alerted to the importance of the ‘war for hearts and minds’ which is currently raging in our respective cultures. The limits of outer space are becoming ever more clearly defined and it becomes increasingly clear to us all that only the most wealthy will travel to other planets, those new frontiers- and even then if they are only foolish enough to risk giving up their fabulous wealth and lives on earth. The old forms of expansionist thinking are becoming less relevant, less meaningful. With the reachable physical world becoming mostly conquered, harnessed and explained, there is very little left to do other than return to the self and turn inwards again to find meaning.

And this doesn’t seem strange to me. We may have been looking in the wrong direction all this time. By harnessing our desire for more in the new scientific realm, we have let go of the wealth of old knowledge which talks about true freedom coming from within.

And the irony is that the rediscovery of this information has primarily come from our ability to be able to conveniently share and access information over the last 25 years thanks to the coming of the Information Age. The internet has done a fantastic job of presenting the conspiracies as well as showing us a myriad of alternatives. Once again- It’s addictive! And for a good reason. We can suddenly learn more and more without even having to find a specialist teacher or sifting through the dusty records in the library. In short, it’s an unparalleled resource.

25 years is a short time though and I suspect it’s hard to adapt. Think back a hundred years or so when the ‘horseless carriage’ came of age. No doubt: “No good can come of this!” -according to the steadfast horseback riders. Men were made to walk in front of vehicles waving a flag. Budgets were being wasted on the building of transport networks. Failures were screaming from the media. Our children were at grave risk…

But what was the result? A revolution in communications. The potential for individuals and families to travel further than was ever possible- to experience more. Sure, there is a cost and it is the natural world- but this seems to always be the case.

Now we stand on the cusp yet again. Once more we have the choice between leaping into the unknown world that is digital space or heading back to hide in the undergrowth. There is a massive opportunity for learning to hunt, mine and phish in the digital waters. Here is a time which allows us to mine the real gold from within human culture. The database is the tool we are using to do just that. It comes in many forms – the latest one being particularly vast and increasingly robust, interconnected, distributed, nebulous. A cloud of information to be mined, sifted, organised and used.

So the point of all this is that, as parents we are perhaps more fearful of what we are losing because of what we do not understand. Clinging to the past because the dystopian future is too hard to face. We should really accept what fate will bring while looking into the digital abyss with our kids. Show no fear. Use the fact that they are able to learn and adapt to new ways to access information as a way of informing ourselves. We should be learning with them because, quite frankly, nobody has any idea what the result is going to be- we are in it together. The evidence already being shown by internet pioneers is that there is much to be gained- so we shouldn’t let our fears of losing an old world stop us from embracing the opportunities presented by the new one. It’s certainly something we shouldn’t pass on to our kids.

So, when it comes to hunting and fishing, camping and general problem solving, there is a great virtual savannah opening up before us, ready for adventure. We may not know it- maybe we just don’t want to know, but our kids seem to have grasped the fact.

The challenge is now to furnish them with the tools that they need to thrive in the digital landscape. Yes- that involves teaching them everything we still know about the ‘real’ world- pure experience is after all still the best teacher- the horse riders had that right. Despite our lives the challenge is to make room in digital spaces as well as real ones- also not instead of. This still means teaching discipline, restraint. This still means getting out there and lifting, learning about frame. But it also means researching and developing all of these skills using the brand new tools we have. In fact, if it wasn’t for these tools most of us would never have arrived here at stoicism at all! There’s a lot to be thankful for already.

Finally a metaphor: My challenge is to see where the moneylenders have invaded our digital/ mental temples and chase them out. It’s very easy to get caught up in the fluffy kitten crap- to the extent that we become lost in the information bullshit blizzard. We have to learn to accept getting lost and finding our way back again and again- never giving up. That was always the adventure and excitement as we mapped out our lives against the territory- nothing has changed in that respect- the exciting journey is now becoming balanced between inside and out and that’s essentially a good thing.