As many headed to polling booths on Saturday, I went bush and let nature swallow me up.
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No radios, no TVs and no social media with its non-stop election-day coverage.
When I emerged, there was a result.
Maybe odd for a journalist, but I don’t find election week enjoyable.
I voted a week early and didn’t particularly want to enter any further discussions about it afterwards.
It’s not that I’m not interested in who runs our country and what they do with it.
Of course I am.
I just don’t want everything I consume or every exchange I have to be about it.
See, I love seeing people passionate about what they believe in, but when we’re talking politics, it often comes with heated debate that can go too far and literally ruin friendships.
If you’re passionate about a form of art and you jump on social media promoting it, you’re probably not going to cop much hate or opposition, regardless of whether the viewers like it or not.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so ‘they’ say.
It’s just your opinion, right? We’re all entitled to those and we all see different strengths and weaknesses in different techniques and deliveries.
But if you jump online and start promoting an election candidate or a political party, chances are you’re going to cop a bit of hate from those who don’t agree with you.
I’ve seen people post some horribly nasty comments on their own Facebook friends’ posts, and then the original poster shoot back equally toxic tongue.
Conversations that could have been constructive end up catastrophic.
It is no wonder many people keep their preferences private.
It’s not necessarily because they’re not proud of who they back.
It might be that they don’t feel they have to justify the choice that they were free to make to anyone who they feel might attack them for it.
With social media comes influencers with huge followings — academics, sportspeople, celebrities, wannabe celebrities — and some will use their voices to ‘inspire’ (aka influence) their followers.
It’s potentially reputation-ruining for any of them who care about that.
Me? I’m happy to inspire friends with simple things.
I’m no influencer, my profiles are private, but I always find it ironic how celebrities get attacked no matter what they do.
They get political and people say, “Stick to writing music/acting/kicking a ball if you don’t have a degree in political science.”
If they keep their lips zipped, people will then call them out for not speaking up: “You should be using your platform to create awareness and educate people.”
Who’d want to be famous? Not me.
It’s no secret to my people that I love sunsets and thunderstorms, animals, music and art, travel and adventure. And taking photos, or videos, of it all to relive the beauty.
As busy and crazy as my life can be, my favourite things are those that just exist naturally.
Or things that come to us naturally.
None of these man-made machines or systems.
A few days ago, I sent a friend a photo I’d taken of some mushrooms growing on my front lawn.
He told me he didn’t have any nature images on his phone and it was one thing he aspired to change.
Another friend messaged after one of last week’s beautiful sunsets, knowing that I often get on my roof when the sky is putting on a show, to ask if I got any nice photos of it.
I told him I was preoccupied and asked if he could send me one he took.
“I’m not a photo person,” he said, “pretty bad at taking photos.”
Yet, he still took in the moment and he still thought of me as that blazing ball of fire sunk out of sight, and maybe next time he might whip out his phone and try to capture it to share, just in case I’m busy again.
Another friend who was working at height one day took off his gloves and lifted his welding mask to send me a video of the clouds surrounding him.
He captioned it: “I look at the sky differently ever since I met you.”
So no, I don’t want to jump on social media and start promoting pollies and their potentially pear-shaped policies.
They’re in our faces enough on their trails.
I am simply happy to inspire somewhat subliminally, by popping into my favourite people’s heads during quiet, mindful moments, when they’re taking in their natural surroundings.
Vote 1, nature, for peace of mind.
In the most literal sense.
Senior journalist