A couple of days ago I challenged myself to unplug from technology for a day. What started out as a test of endurance and a way to measure my addiction taught me a valuable lesson. Sometimes we have to unplug ourselves in order reconnect not only with ourselves but with others. I turned off my computer; put away my cell phone, and resisted Kindle and the TV for little over 30 hours. Not only did I survive without these things, but to my surprise I actually had a wonderful day.
Instead of eating my lunch in front of my computer, I enjoyed a beautiful picnic by the sea. Larvik is amazing this time of year. The changing bright colors of the autumn leaves glow in the sun, and cast their reflection in the water. Later on in the day I made friends again with my notebook and pen. The smell of paper and ink were familiar and comforting. I spent more time with my family then I have for a long time, and when the evening stars came out I spent time with them as well.
On top of Larvik
So my friends, I highly recommend to unplug and reboot yourself back into your life. Have a wonderful week-end and try to have your eyes glued elsewhere for awhile.
9 comments:
Great photo! Autumn is a great time to get outside -- pretty, and the weather's more comfortable.
I usually only do this when I go out of town, but you're right, it can be wonderful!
When my children were is elementary school, they used to have "unplugged" days which I always enjoyed. They would abandoned their computers, video games and television, and we'd have a nice evening playing board games and actually conversing with one another.
Lovely autumn scenery. I spent two weeks unplugged (not by choice) on a vacation. It was a litle hard at first but even harder at the end to come back to all those cyber demands.
I'll just have to pick a day and do it!
That's wonderful!
I don't have a laptop so the only way I can use the desktop is when I actually go down to my writing cave and sit to write or surf the internet. So when I'm somewhere else, I'm unplugged...except, I have an iPhone which I use to keep track of emails and Twitter and surf online. One time I accidentally left my iPhone at home when we were going out with the fam for a day at the zoo. Out of habit, I kept reaching for my back pocket only to realize I didn't have my phone with me. It turned out to be a wonderful, fun day and I stopped checking for my iPhone the minute we got to the zoo. Lovely. It's always nice to unplug every once in a while and really live in the real world.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful experience. ;)
Wow, Sis,
That picnic sounded AMAZING. OH how I wish I was there. IT's freezing here in Chicago. It's rained for six straight days on and off. The autumn leaves are soggy and colorless for there has been little sun.
I know you must be super pumped. I hope to see you soon.
Wow! I do believe that I am going to have to unplug myself on purpose for a day or so. I only seem to that when I am sick and physically unable to access my computer, cell, etc. You sound as though you had one amazing time rebooting yourself.
Siv, Just reading about your 30 hours was relaxing. I recently returned from a trip to my home state of Wisconsin where I seldom accessed my netbook, made few cell phone calls, even skipped a few mornings of reading the newspaper on Kindle!
Of course, I had rented a car and spent many carefree hours driving around the state, visiting family and friends. You are right that unplugging is necessary every once in a while.
Now it is back to reality and I am doing a blog tour for October. If you get a chance, please stop by to see what is happening next!
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