Would You Like To Be A Bird?

Summary

The text reflects on the desire to escape the confines of technology and screens, contemplating the simplicity and freedom of a bird's life.

Abstract

The author expresses a deep longing to break free from the digital world, having spent an entire day engrossed in screens. There's a sense of fatigue and disconnection from reality, prompting a yearning for the outdoors and a simpler existence. A chance observation of a pigeon from a window leads to a philosophical musing about the nature of happiness and fulfillment, comparing the indoor, sedentary human life with the outdoor, active life of a bird. The author ponders the sensory and existential differences of being a bird, such as flying, living in the sky, and the loss of human communication methods. The piece ends abruptly with the departure of the pigeon, grounding the author's reflections in a mundane reality.

Opinions

The author feels trapped by constant exposure to screens and seeks a return to nature.
There is a contemplation of whether outdoor creatures like birds might experience greater happiness than humans.
The author questions the nature of consciousness and whether a bird's life is governed solely by basic needs or if there is a deeper awareness.
The piece suggests a romanticized view of the freedom associated with flying and the simplicity of avian life.
The sudden end with the pigeon's departure implies a moment of introspection cut short by the unceremonious and indifferent nature of wildlife.

Do you wonder, Stevie? (Ok kill me for this joke)

I can’t stand staring at a screen much longer. Sometimes, it happens: I realize that I have been stuck on my phone or on my computer the whole day. I stayed in my bubble for too long. I’ve tired my eyes for too long. I need a rest, I need to see what reality looks like. I forgot about it for too long.

Then, I get up and go to the living room. But the TV is on. I look out of the window. There’s a pigeon on an electrical wire. He’s black and seems to be well fed.

I stare at him (or her?) and think about life, about our lives. I’m always inside, he’s always outside. Which one is happier? Which one lives the life they want? Which one is living it up? I wonder.

How would I feel, if I was a bird? How would it feel to fly? To see the sky as my home, and not as a dreamland? How would I feel if I was covered by fuzz and feathers? How would I feel if I didn’t have any arms, but instead I had wings? How would I feel if I had a beak? If I couldn’t communicate the same way I do now? Through words, through speaking? I wonder.

How would I feel? How would you feel? I wonder.

Would I think the same way I do now? Would I wonder what my life would have been if I was a dog, a human, a tree, an ant? Would I wonder how it would feel to not be able to fly? Would I have any consciousness beyond “I need to eat. I need to sleep. I need sex. I need to run away from this predator”? Would I…

Uh. Never mind. The pigeon has just pooped and left.