Last December I met an off-grid man at the east coast of the Red Sea in Egypt, where he lives all year long. No social media, no kids, not even pets.
When we first sat down to talk, I was suffering from a severe migraine and could barely speak. He handed me a small pack of Himalayan salt—an unconventional treatment I was aware of but wouldn’t expect anyone to just casually recommend.
Then we started talking for a bit. He shortly brought up meditation and mindfulness—topics I'm interested in but also wouldn't expect anyone to discuss with a stranger during their first conversation.
Around that time I was working on an essay trying to describe what it means to be detached from modern systems, which is another way of saying 'how to live with intention in a world dominated by technology and consumerism'. I had been working on it for so long. The topic kept nagging the back of my head for a few months, which took long to articulate.
It was not about the essay though; the essay was just a proxy for my understanding. I believe I wasn’t able to finish it because my understanding was still not full.
So I decided to go on a one-week retreat to El Gouna in December—where I would meet Taimour, the off-grid man—to clear my head with the single goal of completing my essay.
I don’t believe in coincidence. But it felt crazy when fate got me on a dinner table with a man living by the same set of rules I have been trying to capture in writing for so long.
Right away I became so invested in the fact that he doesn’t use any social media, no TV screens in sight, doesn’t turn on the news, only consumes whole food, and his sleep schedule perfectly aligns with the sun.
He dressed so modestly and talked so slowly. I decided to call him a monk. Though not a literal monastery monk, he lives with standards and rules so different from most people, that calling him a monk won't be far from the truth. His lifestyle, focused on spiritual practices, simplicity, and detachment from most modern pursuits, aligns closely with monastic principles.
For example, every item on his kitchen shelf was there for a reason, every picture on his wall was captured by him, each with its own story.
It seems that those are quite some fundamentals, yet are often overlooked.
About the essay I was writing back then: I was in fact writing about everything that –I think– is wrong with modern systems. Touching upon how topics like nutrition, education, media, and medicine are closely and intrinsically connected with concepts like well-being, hope, health, and faith.
I first presented my understanding through some open-ended questions and then dedicated the body of the essay to try answer them. I thought that heath could be a good entry point to the state of detachment I was trying to describe.
So naturally lots of these open-ended questions evolved around the consumption of sugar, the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs, whole-food-based diets, and detox protocols.
But it still felt as if my understanding towards what I was trying to express had been incomplete, and was starting to shape up as I was talking to him. It quickly felt as if the state of detachment I had been trying to put into words for weeks was suddenly in front of me.
For a few days straight, I wrote at night and met with him during the day.
I later learned he is living there by himself, and has been there for 6 years. Used to be married, but not anymore. He also talked about how he’s been learning the Quran for the past few years, healing, and meditating, everyday.
I kept wondering how he supported himself and eventually learned he had a candy factory, and that he used to be a marketing executive in his 30s.
What strikes me about him is that I kept thinking he must be lonely, or bored, or both – then over the course of a few days I would find that:
- He’s friends with everyone around him, invites them for dinners, even invited us; also gets invited at theirs at least a few times per week – their gatherings involve food and chit-chat
- On a given day: He meditates in front of the lagoon, plays the guitar in his hi-tech studio, cooks all his meals in his american kitchen, recites verses from the Quran before sleeping
- He believes that living in tandem with nature is the only way to find peace – Also believes in love, and that the absence of it leads to ruin and suffering
Just by noticing his lifestyle, he gave me answers about: Nutritional diet, information diet, relationships with others, relationship with oneself, and relationship with God. Answers that would directly relate to my list of questions.
For years I was under the impression that full control over my nutritional diet meant full control over my health, which turns out to be false in every sense of the word.
It turns out that what we call 'health' should be the product of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, not just one of them in isolation. So while we tend to pay extreme attention to the physical body, health is rather about body, mind, and soul. And being ‘healthy’ is about achieving a good balance between all three.
When I first learned this, I realized my health was likely in a much worse state than I had previously believed. Even more, it seems that neglecting any one of the three appears to have negative side effects, even if you're dedicating significant effort and attention to the other two.
In just one week, I was able to finish my essay. I called it: How to unplug?
It’s ironic that most answers I reached were primarily about the fundamentals. When it comes to mindful consumption, getting rid of toxins, and living the good life, we tend to think we need millionaire morning routines or expensive products, when in fact it all lies in practicing the fundamentals.
I now believe a holistic approach to health prioritizes three key aspects: physical well-being (sunlight exposure, proper hydration, and clean eating), mental wellness (by reducing media consumption and practicing gratitude), and spiritual growth (via meditation, daily prayers, breathwork, and grounding exercises).
It’s quite alarming how most of these basics are not discussed anymore anywhere. I also found the direction that modern tech is advancing towards is disabling more and more of these holistic health practices, instead of enabling them.
It’s also alarming how many of these practices naturally puts restrictions on many of the things we are used to doing everyday (processed food, processed media, etc). As we get more comfortable and more advanced, we’re being detached from nature and everything that it has to offer.
Towards the end of my retreat, it came to me: to be away from nature is to be away from God. If the answer lies in the basics, then it’s quite obvious that modernization of certain aspects is more dangerous than useful.
In my personal experience, I took some time to incrementally incorporate one by one throughout 2024, and it worked. I tried to practice what I preach and I found the fundamentals do work. And I’m only telling this from a place of awe. That we probably don’t need anything else—contrary to what advertising and media would have us believe.
I now firmly believe questioning everything and implementing the fundamentals is guaranteed to give us a life of peace and purpose. A life that can actually amount to something and where we can feel safe raising an offspring.
Thanks for reading!