Friday, June 3, 2011

Unplug


I have taken a week off, not from my challenge but from writing about it- or more so writing about it on the Internet.. It wasn't originally intentional; we went out of town for memorial day, we have had house guests.. But after a few days of being "unplugged" i started thinking about how so much communication all the time really takes away from my "mindfulness" and in short how distracting it can be. It's not even just the Internet, but email, Facebook, texts.. Its everywhere everyone everything all the time.. So many people text or status update constantantly, like they need to give a play by play of their day from morning to night. Maybe this information being shared makes it more valuable or important? Is it a cure for loneliness or a matter of ego? It seems like what might normally be an inner monologue is now constant public information.
The real problem comes though when people are then expected to know every little thing all the time or they expect you to do the same. It is almost like suddenly all these inane details become so constant and regular privacy is out the window. Boundries are gone, attention is demanded, knowledge becomes expected (you didn't READ I had a meeting today? You had a dinner party last night with so-and-so but not me?) and eventually you feel like you don't want to tune out because you don't want to miss a thing.
There is this level of falsified intimacy created, in this sick form of voyeurism- quantity over quality with just too much information. Why does everyone need to know everything that happens all the time? Where does privacy come into this? Or distance? What is the urgency? What is the vanity about? And more importantly what else could one be doing with the time, energy, thought, and emotion that goes into all of these efforts?
This week my answer to that would be long walks, toes in the sand, cuddles with my kids, baking, creating, and some fantastic conversations. Remember conversations? Good old fashioned phone calls or even better face to face time.. And yes I see the irony in typing this into my iPhone and publishing it to my blog, and I will certainly continue to flood my Facebook friends with too many happy snaps of my kids and eagerly click through my friends photos or my favorite blogs but I promise I will not send you a text about what I'm watching on tv or submit status updates including photos of myself trying on clothes at the mall or what I'm having for dinner (not that I have I swear!).. Really. Everything in moderation. I want to be in the here and now and soak up life and all I can of my loved ones but really- the bigger moments always happen in person not through idle chit chat- so I will be here and now because I don't want to miss a thing.

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