Lessons in Scale and Impact from 'My Octopus Teacher'

ocean-impact.org

19 points·rbanffy··5 comments

“Lockdown restrictions have had the unintended benefit of increasing the amount of time people are spending in nature.”

This struck me. Imagine if the Gaia theory is ‘correct’, and one of the feedback mechanisms for an overstressed planet is the release of pandemics that force humans to consider their surroundings more closely.

It's tempting and enticing to want to think that way, however, lockdown in corrupt South Africa was and is harsh and brutal to the extent that people aren't allowed to roam freely in nature. People and children were arrested, assaulted, handcuffed, etc. for taking a walk or going for a quick surf on a deserted beach.

Coincidentally, we just watched this last night!

I thought the best thing about it was how it evoked the semi-magical power of surrendering yourself to an environment. Forgetting yourself, focusing on everything around you, and allowing your mind to gradually be re-shaped by what you're perceiving. Sort of letting a small piece of the world gradually, over time, enter in and become you.

I've experienced this in small ways here and there; seeing the film made me hungry for a deeper level of that experience.

I watched the movie recently too and was shocked at how they were able to make such a boring film out of such incredible footage. It would have been better watched on mute while music played. He did seem like a nice guy though.

A wonderful watch and mind trip.

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