Without Screens
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Four days. Four full days without screens. A holiday away. A time to say, and feel, thanks. I brought my computer, slipping it in. Just in case. But it stayed there, in my bag, its little light coming and going, a small beacon. There was no surfing. There were no emails. There was no posting. No writing at all.
Instead. Instead there was family and ferocious laughter and food. Instead, there was life. The kind of life that appears in sudden smiles and surprise hugs and pumpkin pies. The kind of life that cannot be planned or drafted or polished or reduced to words.
The kind of life I love.
Instead. Instead there were thoughts. The dancing kind. The gentle kind. The kind of thoughts laced with brightness. The kind of thoughts stitched with consciousness and confidence, with powers that too often elude: presence, peace.
Instead. Instead there were little girls. The sweet kind. The sweetest kind. The kind of girls full of gorgeous glee and innocence that has no choice but to fade as time does its work. The kind of girls who grow and learn, who become big people one day.
Four days without gadgets. Four days with goodness. Four exquisite, calorie-crammed, joy-jammed, life-laden days. Four days in which important lessons could have been learned, and might have been learned.
But here I am. Back in this spot. Settling at my screen. Something brings me again and again, over and over, to this place, to this space. There must be something magical here too, right? Something different and electric and essential. Why else would I bolt so quickly from the beauty just tasted? Why else would I veer from the vision I claim now, and return here, a good soldier in this mysterious march, to report for this duty of my own design?
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Did you unplug for the holiday too? If so, how did it feel? Do you ever stop to ponder who you’d be and what life would look like without screens? Are you ever tempted to unplug for good? What brings you back here, to this wilderness, time and time again?
Everyone struggles and...
I come back to the screen because of the millions of dollars I earn and the accolades. Yes, money, fame and fortune are what drive me to continue posting.
Jack – I think this is why most of us blog. Money, fame, and fortune… oh, and the incredible prestige of breaking into a medium with such high entry barriers!
Hi Gale,
How many other places can I go whine about my life and actually have people listen.
I really need to deactivate myself from technology. Maybe over Christmas. Maybe. Glad you had a screen free vacation.
Whenever I step away from the screen as you did, I experience a similar rush of positive feelings. But, like you, I am never sad when I return. Perhaps it’s about finding that magical and elusive balance? Accepting the wisdom in the adage, “All things in moderation”?