With this unseasonable weather, we cannot really enjoy the seasons, such as autumn or spring. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly stressful to spend our daily lives, constantly feeling the danger around us.
When our stress levels are high, our state of mind get unstable, and communication between others may not work smoothly. Small matters end up in quarrels and wars do not end, people losing their lives by incomprehensible incidents, and unthinkable fraud schemes frequently occur from evil thoughts….
Then, the society gradually transforms into a place where we cannot trust one another anymore.
As AI continues to evolve inconveniently, scams and crimes using the AI increase maliciously, and we can no longer trust what we see or hear, and the premise of “trusting no one” become the norm.
Until quite recently, we talked casually about AI in our daily conversations saying how useful it is, but now it has reached a point where we find ourselves thinking, we cannot just laugh about this matter anymore. Concerns raised now are that AI have grown too fast, running out of control and may be harmful. Experts around the world have started to blow the whistle, warning us that even humanity could be in danger.
Things have truly become scary.
I envy the past.
For example, we don’t have to go back as far as the Edo period, but the Showa era was a very good time when we think about it now.
We used to use the so-called black telephones and we exchanged our feelings by sending letters and postcards. At the train stations, the station staff used to cut our paper tickets using special ticket cutters and I thought it was cool when they twirled it around in their hands.
Our school libraries were full of books, and when we needed to look up something, we would all
spend hours there and did our research. When we wanted to check the kanji characters, it was quite fun to flip through the thin pages of our own thick kanji dictionaries. I felt quite happy when my own kanji dictionary got worn out from constant use.
Whenever I wanted to talk to a boy I liked on the phone, I got nervous as I turned the dial and would often put the receiver down half way through, because it was usually his parent or an older sibling who picked up the phone, which was quite scary.
Everything was not too precise in a good sense, and the inconvenience felt good somehow.
As I write this essay now, I am typing on my smartphone. I use it to book travel tickets too, and I am happy with the convenience. Before, I used to write my schedule in a paper diary, but now I use my smartphone. I also take notes on it and lately, I don’t have the reason to hand write anything.
I switched to using a smartphone at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but until then, I insisted in using my feature phone and that I would even prefer going back to the black dial telephone if I had to…However, I ended up using the smartphone, compromising to the world….
It is, actually convenient.
But sometimes, I suddenly feel scared that the various subtle sensibilities within myself are gradually weakening.
With the penetration of smartphones and computers, children these days already get their hands on them even before they learn to speak.
In such environment, they could be drawn into criminal activities without their parents knowing.
As I have described earlier in this essay, there are unnecessary bullying, deception, fraud and crime….
In the middle of such modern times, I touch my musical instrument.
It gives me a sense of relief.
The string instrument made from wood that is hundreds of years old.
Slight changes in humidity or temperature could prevent the sound from sounding clearly or make if difficult to play. But that is what is good about it.
Strings made from sheep’s gut, bows made of horsehair, and the pine rosin applied to the horsehair. When the air changes, the pine rosin doesn’t adjust properly, causing the bow to slip off the strings, which can be a problem. So, it needs careful maintenance.
The feeling of the sound produced by rubbing the horsehair against the string is so organic!
But when in a humid environment, the friction doesn’t work well and the tone can be distorted or muffled, which makes it difficult to play.
However, there is the sense of comfort of talking with a living creature in the act of “playing the violin”.
Through this act of playing, I can convey the voice of my soul that wells up from deep inside my own body.
Thoughts that cannot be told in words, emotions that cannot be written, and the most complex feelings deep within my heart, that can never be conveyed through the smartphones or computers.
On stage, the time stands still.