RACE AGAINST TIME AND BREATH OF LIFE

The world wide web which has enveloped the planet has affected virtually every one of us. So much so that we are now talking about a virtual home of God. The Chebi mosque was virtually designed on the basis of a model of the famous Cordoba Mosque. In 2009, the parishioners of St. Mary's Church in the Italian town of Ostia began to "light" candles on the official web site of the temple. Virtual candles then appeared in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In this case, it was mentioned (among other things) that assistance is provided to people in the form of virtual prayer. There is no doubt that if this context "affects" the religious department, it means that virtual things have taken a wide sweep, which is not surprising given the current pace of life. In the real world, for example, the most popular food items are disposable bags (tea, coffee, hamburgers, etc.). They are harmful, but we are happy: no need to make tea, spend hours at the stove, while children can be fed quickly cooking food. The love, born for many immediately after a one-off proximity, is near us.

And all this is because our motto is speed. We are constantly afraid of being late somewhere or missing something. This whirlwind is reminiscent of the famous author's notes in one of the outstanding works of Hungarian composer Franz Liszt: "Fast, faster, as fast as possible, even faster." This pace is understandable, who and what is the reason for the current speed of life and why is it happening at the expense of the quality of everything that surrounds us?

Apparently, paradoxical as it may sound, it happens for the sake of us. Otherwise we would not have entered the virtual space at such a speed, where pressing issues are dealt with in no time and where there is so much comfort for people in general. But how "nutritious" can getting into the web be in some cases? Isn't there an imitation of life? Of course, the speed is amazing. People make friends (albeit nominal, but this is not a problem for many) without much effort. You turn over a page and there are news headlines coming your way. In parallel, you get acquainted with the necessary information from your "native" portals. Windows keep opening - here is your favorite music, followed by virtual love. It is so easy, isn't it, to fall in love or become lovers on the web - there is no need for making special approaches, think about the surprises or prepare for a date. Some will argue that virtual life does become real. Of course, but isn't it a tribute to fashion?

In general, the author has always maintained that virtual space is a prototype of reality. But to what extent can virtual relationships be described as the "breathing" of life? Of course, some oxygen is available, but is it fresh? It is a reality or is there a parallel between an advertising circular of a future housing estate and life in each of the apartments after the commissioning date? The advertising booklet shows a carefree life, but what happens in reality when there are disputes inside an apartment, malaise and problems of everyday life? So isn't virtual life just a booklet in which we create this vision ourselves?

Certainly, there are feelings and emotions here, but aren't they a "phantom" result of the search for missing links in real life - sensory, physical or physiological? Under such circumstances, where do we take a 100 per cent guarantee that we are not being played with? And aren't we playing ourselves? After all, in some cases those in search only appear the way they would like to be, albeit not deliberately. So is this a virtual unreality which manifests itself through our hidden desire to believe in finding the links missing in the real world? But then we become unreal ourselves, a surrogate in a surrogate relationship.

Perhaps if we do a sincere heart-searching we will understand the benefits of the "phantom reality". And if we don't want to, then we must acknowledge our virtual dependence because we plunge into the world "behind the monitor" almost like in a real home.

Remembering the brilliant J. Cortazar

The point is that when a phantom becomes reality, we become slaves of ... the equipment, fully "immersing ourselves" in it. And when we are completely immersed in it, we disappear from reality, leaving the latter only our form, not the content. Remember what prominent Argentine writer Julio Cortazar wrote in his "Axolotl"? The main character spent days watching axolotl (the larva of some species of amphibians) the in the tank in a botanical garden. And then he felt that there was something that linked "us". After some time, looking into the eyes of the axolotl speaking to him "about the presence of another way of seeing", he admitted: "Now I am axolotl." In other words, while living in a seemingly real world, he got completely "settled" in the virtual world. The actual reality was lost. I am what I am, but not quite... Because I am there, not here. Thus the individual actually becomes a no-one, a phantom, if not a wrapper. For sugary sweets, of the same phantom nature.

J. Cortazar has also written the famous short story "The Devil's Drool", which served as the basis for great Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's sensational film "Blow-Up". An amateur photographer captures a couple in the countryside. After developing the film, he attached it to the wall and, while staring at it, began to remember the real background. Suddenly, through representations and feelings, he felt his presence in that reality. So the photographer plunged into a world of dreams and fantasies, while still having a sense of real action and passion. So can anyone tell me if there is a breath of life? What does it taste like? Is it possible to get some oxygen here?

Is virtual world an addiction?  

In this connection I remember something from great art. A very interesting work by prominent Latino writer Antonio Larreta "Who killed the Duchess of Alba, or Volaverunt" describes a story by famous painter Francisco Goya about one event. In particular, he shared information on an incredible impact of some powder on the human body. The great master, while acknowledging his admiration of the sensations brought on after using it, reveals that powder influenced "the senses and the brain", including the ability to grasp the shape and color not only of real, but also imaginary objects. As a result, Goya considered himself an artist capable of creating a "world hiding behind the surface of our imagination".

We listen carefully to further revelations. Goya describes the price of this condition as "extremely high" and is grateful that he was able to realize it "in time". Referring to his work "Volaverunt" (from the "Caprichos" series) with the image of "the proud Maja", he speaks about the butterfly wings flying over her forehead, as if "fascinating her to fly somewhere for pleasure, and she does not notice the monsters crouched at her feet". But, the artist concludes, monsters will win all the same because the butterfly is only a mirage. "This terrible powder first creates wonderful and colorful butterflies in the mind, and then plunges us into the gray horror of hell," Goya says. He concludes that addiction leads to a state of slavish dependence on the powder which destroys the person.

Isn't this a beautifully conveyed story of Goya? But okay with emotion, and doesn't this white powder situation (let's call it a drug) reminisce of virtual life today when the "butterfly" can be eaten by the "monster"? And we are not talking about the general situation of being in a virtual plane. When using it in terms of usefulness to man, what problems can it cause in general? 

In general, our stay in the virtual world is identical to being in real life created by God: in both worlds you have the right to choose! What steps will you take in each particular case? Where are you trying to go and how? There are many questions and all are very complicated. There are much fewer recipes for answering a number of them.

Virtual world is addictive. Sometimes very innocuous at first glance, it may lead to addiction, up until spending hours in the web just for a sip of "fresh" air of life. And then you become the character of "Axolotl". When you find yourself held captive by the virtual world, you gradually approach the photographer from "The Devil's Drool", plunging into the virtual world from the standpoint of perception of reality. And there you live, being present in the real world only with your shell. All your thoughts are in a virtual nullity which turns you into a "monitor" human-amphibian, the forerunner of virtual zombies.

Of course, during the development of the process without causing harm to the "amphibian" and its surroundings such anxiety may be of "individual" nature which is not particularly problematic for the individual. But what about the factor of "butterflies" and "monsters", when the virtual world eats the human body? Yes, he appears to be quite comfortable in a virtual plane, he is the master of his feelings, perceptions, fantasies, etc. But what if he starts to breathe with this invented world? This means that virtual reality (or unreality) is "biting you off" real life. And it is doing that fundamentally, developing your dependence on virtual nullity (a state identical to that of a drug-addict). So we wish all of us not to cross this boundary, to feel a real person in real life with real feelings and doubts. In a world created for us by God!