174th Edition
The Right Path to Take
I learned a new term today. It’s called “urbex.” It stands for urban exploration, which is basically a term used to describe an activity in which people break into abandoned office buildings, shopping malls, or other commercial structures that are no longer in use. Another word for this activity is trespassing, but urbex sounds much better, doesn’t it. To make this story even more bizarre, apparently social media, especially TikTok, is used to motivate people to engage in urbex. I’m not sure why or how, and since I never use TikTok, I guess I’ll never know.
Not surprisingly, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article – “People Keep Sneaking Into an Empty IBM Campus. This Town Has Had Enough,” vacant buildings are often vandalized during these modern-day, social-media-driven escapades. A quick search revealed that there are approximately 17,500 abandoned commercial buildings nationwide. Close to 20% of office space and 25% of retail malls are not being used. (Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration and National Archives.gov).
Why not open all these buildings and let people explore them? Just think of what they might find. Conference rooms with whiteboards and beautiful mahogany tables; lobbies with comfortable chairs and outdated magazines; C-Suite offices with amazing views; and last but certainly not least, endless rows of cubicles. After the last abandoned structure has been thoroughly explored, my guess is we will move on to virtual exploration. Travel the Amazon or Climb Mt. Everest from the comfort of your couch…
Are technology and social media making us act strange or perhaps a bit silly? In a world dominated by technology, will plugged-in generations, obsessed with TikTok, influencers, and their next urbex adventure, ever experience the peaceful beauty of true wilderness? Will they be able to identify trees and plants without their iPhone? Will they be able to distinguish between the screech of a Red-Tailed Hawk and the crow-like call of a Red-Shouldered Hawk? Will they even care? When they encounter intersecting trails will they know the right path to take? Will they ever be lost in the solitude of the woods, only to find spirituality, or even their true self? I suspect any young person, addicted to TikTok, poised to begin his next urbex, will find these questions strange or a bit silly.
I’ve always felt connected to wilderness. Here is a poem I wrote years ago –
What is calling way out there?
Beyond the desk we sit and stare.
What is calling way out there?
A freedom search, quite possibly.
In wilderness we long to be.
Where all around the boundaries gone.
In solitude from dusk ‘til dawn.
In quiet search for self-reliance.
To continue on – no small defiance.
Our choice to make, should we turn back?
Not from fear nor courage lack.
But search we must, inside the lines.
For freedom lies within our minds.
What is calling way out there?
An echo from a calling near.
Reluctantly, I am resigned to the fact that our world will never have less technology. But that doesn’t mean we have to stay plugged in all the time. We can spend moments unplugged in solitude or with real people, enjoying meaningful conversation, or listening to each other intently without trying to prove a particular point. Or even better, we can go for a walk with our dog, leaving our iPhone and earbuds behind. If you need an exploration induced adrenaline rush, do it without a leash and let the dog lead. They seem to always know the right path to take.
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Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.