Earlier this year, The Huffington Post voted mindfulness as one of this year’s main trends. I gave it my first preference as well and retired to an island in the Indian Ocean to practise living the moment.
And live the moment I did. Actually, I didn’t even know what moment it was as the first thing I did when the pilot turned the seatbelt sign off (and the other passengers turned their mobile phones on) was to unclasp myself from my watch.
Far from the madding crowd of self-referring television, self-reflecting camera and self-satisfied radio, I could enjoy the now, then watch it disappear in the traffic of the past, only to be overtaken by another now, cruising along as easily as a 1960 Plymouth Fury convertible on a heat-shimmering highway.
Reality is broken. Game designers can fix it- Game designer Jane McGonigal
Time went by like a childhood seashell collection of aimless days, a banality so blissful that even the simplest of thoughts – like whether I should have coconut ice cream, vanilla ice cream, or a healthy dollop of both – stood out like a flourish of the mind. The air was bereft of any molecular agitation except for the swaying of palm trees, the occasional dull thud of a coconut hitting the sand like the punch of a tired boxer, the playground sound of tumbling surf, and ice cubes tinkling in drinks the colour of a five-year-old’s nursery.
The only time I went online was to draw cheeky pleasure from reading about the bad weather back home, while slapping yet another blob of factor 50 on my scalp and successfully predicting the weather for the next five days (sunny).
My thoughts quietened down to white noise and my body began to slowly recover from a lifetime of bad posture, unhealthy habits and bodily disrepair that comes from sitting at a desk all day.
Yes, life was good. And then I downloaded Candy Crush Saga. I still cannot understand what made me do it. Maybe it was consumer desire that got me. Or the sight of my tablet forgotten on a bedside table, not enjoying its holiday.
What I do understand – after switching and bursting candy for hours on end and rushing to plug my tablet back to life every 30 minutes – is why there’s the word ‘saga’ in the game title. And why, despite being a Freemium game, it is one of the top grossing apps of all time. I just hope the developers can enjoy my holiday money more than I did. And can anyone tell me how to beat level 137?
techeditor@timesofmalta.com