Between Earth And Code: A Tale Of Two Civilizations

Between Earth and Code: A Tale of Two Civilizations

Life in the Bush

A young man born into the rhythms of uncivilization interacts with life based on the order of the day. After rising from a restful night’s sleep, he steps into the surrounding bush, plucks a stick, and chews it to cleanse his teeth—an organic toothbrush crafted by nature herself. He then walks to the nearby stream with his water pot, scoops up fresh water, uses part of it to rinse his mouth clean of woody residue, and bathes with the rest.

His breakfast is a fresh spread—fufu made from cassava he harvested himself, paired with a soup brewed from leaves grown just outside his living quarters. With his belly satisfied, he heads into his farmland, where he weeds around his yams and potatoes and trims the edges of his oil palms.

From his orchard, he plucks ripe fruits. He inspects the fencing around his property, ensuring no stray goats invade his harvest. As the sun grows fiercer, he takes shelter and quenches his thirst from a water pot, naturally cooled in the shade. His lunch is roasted plantain and a fresh soup made from the flesh of a grasscutter, caught in a trap earlier that morning.

When dusk draws near, he checks the gourds tied to his oil palms to see if fresh palm wine has trickled in. He’s in luck. He sips some of the earthy nectar, pours the rest into a keg, and begins his journey home. Dinner is a familiar plate—swallow with bitter leaf soup, all washed down with the fresh wine. His bed, made from cowhide and animal skins, welcomes him back into rest, after a day well-lived.

Life in the City

Far across the globe, in a land dressed in steel and glass, another young man is still awake—troubled by lines of code that, until a few hours ago, were working perfectly. Now they’re not. And that simple breakdown threatens to derail his plans of relocating to a high-end district—where ambition wears tuxedos and time is counted in deals, not hours.

A half-eaten pizza stares at him accusingly from his desk. He battles sleep but remains shackled to his screen. The 35-minute drive home in his ultra-luxury supercar no longer excites him. He finally gives in to a nap—but not in his bed. Instead, he slumps into a designer couch in the visitor’s lounge of his customized office. But rest eludes him.

The thought of losing the renegotiated $15 million deal on his dream mansion dances around his brain like a tormenting lullaby.

The Power of Exposure

Each young man—one buried in tradition, the other swimming in advancement—experiences life at its fullest based on the framework they’ve embraced.

But then came the internet.

The walls between their worlds came crashing down like dominos in a tech-powered earthquake.

Now, the young man of the soil starts to wonder—why is life so vastly different in that other world? Why are their values, rhythms, and desires so contrasting? Meanwhile, the civilized man yearns for the purity that flows from the ground and hangs on trees—untouched, unprocessed, and wild.

Both once lived with contentment, but exposure stirred the pot. The contrast was no longer theoretical—it was real, visible, clickable.

The Trouble with the Middle

Civilization worked when people believed in its offerings. Uncivilization, too, worked when people embraced its simplicity. Trouble brews in the middle ground.

To truly enjoy life in the civilized world, one must become thoroughly civilized—devoted to its complexity, rules, and speeds. To thrive in the uncivilized world, one must be entirely steeped in its slower rhythms and rooted existence.

It is the half-civilized, half-uncivilized life that often produces discontent—caught between craving and critique, between ambition and abandonment.

The spectrum, however, isn’t just physical—it’s internal. One’s mental posture determines where one thrives.

Generations and Mindsets

Every new generation makes a decision—whether to build upon the heights of civilization or retrace their steps back to earthier ways.

A country might have tasted civilization once, but if the new crop of citizens finds the price too steep, they will pivot towards simplicity. On the other hand, if the ideals of modernity seem attainable, the people will push forward.

Civilization and uncivilization are not external places. They are states of mind. The sun shines on both ends, the rains fall, and the moon watches over both. The difference lies in perception. The direction a people take stems from how they think. The mind is the compass. And the mindset is the map.

The Meaning of Sleep

Sleep is more than rest—it’s a universal metaphor.

When a body sleeps, the physical senses retreat. When the spirit sleeps, spiritual awareness dims. When emotions sleep, empathy and feeling lie dormant.

Much like men who struggle to understand women—and vice versa—because their emotional and rational worlds don’t speak the same language, sleep here symbolizes ignorance. A man unaware of how a woman feels is emotionally asleep. A woman who doesn’t grasp how a man reasons is mentally asleep.

Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, urged them to “awake from sleep and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” That wasn’t just spiritual—it’s a call that echoes across all dimensions. Awakening births results. Sleep is built into creation, but progress begins the moment one stirs from slumber.

Understanding Each Other’s World

The uncivilized young man, though lacking in modern luxuries, lives a life full of grounded pleasures. Clay walls and palm fronds serve him better than any smart home might, until he wakes from that sleep—if ever.

The civilized man, on the other hand, can no longer feel the raw texture of earth beneath his feet. His palms know touchscreens, not soil. Though he might take a sip of natural palm wine, his spirit is calibrated to vintage cognac and curated cocktails.

They may never fully understand each other. They may never need to.

The civilized can send donations and aid. The uncivilized can offer joy unbothered by spreadsheets and status. And in a strange twist, they each find in the other something worth longing for—but perhaps never reaching.

Final Thoughts

Every generation chooses.

Some chase the glittering peaks of civilization, willing to pay the price in sleepless nights and coded dreams. Others return to the calm of uncivilization, trading ambitions for barefoot peace.

Neither is wrong.

Neither is perfect.

They are simply results—echoes of human thought and choices.