I’ve been on a 2 day hiatus from the Internet and my computer. You may have noticed…no blog entries. It was not my original intention to totally disconnect like that but hey…life got in the way. On Monday, I returned my daughter to her college. Yesterday, life was just chock full of appointments and chores that just filled up the day. You would not believe the number of people at the grocery store in preparation for our overnight snow storm! Oh well, we really were out of milk and stuff for dinner and lunches, so I slogged through the crowd and stood in line with the rest of world. Last night, with chickadee #1 back to school, it was time to take down the Christmas tree. Epiphany has arrived and Christmas is over.
In reflecting on my two days of disconnect from the Internet, I have to say it was somewhat more productive on the home front but the thought of opening my e-mail box fills me with dread. I also feel re-charged and somehow more whole. The other thing I’ve noticed is that I feel more connected to my real life, even though I’ve clearly become disconnected from the Internet crowd. Have you missed me? I doubt it. However, I suspect that if I were to somehow get sucked into cyberspace, my family and friends might actually miss me.
A small epiphany in Epiphany. I hadn’t realized (well maybe I did have an inkling) how much I wasn’t getting done in the attempt to get these Internet things done. Truthfully I spend a lot of time on the computer doing the job search thing, doing stuff for St. Andrew, and stuff for the Boy Scout troop. In order to make all these Internet connections, I had to let some of my real-life connections pile up in the corner.
After un-decorating our Christmas tree last night, I telephoned my friend with whom I also connect on Facebook. It was a great conversation. We made plans to get together because we haven’t seen each other in person since early December. It’s hard to have that real-time, real-life dialogue on the Internet, even though it certainly is possible with chat and Skype, etc. It just isn’t the same. I read her Facebook postings and occasionally comment, but it is SO much more real to talk to her in person. I hadn’t forgotten this. I know this. But sometimes all the “stuff” gets in the way of what is really important…how God intended us to communicate with each other…a true relationship with each other. Sometimes the Internet may make it easy to find connections with people and to instantly or easily send a message, but I hope we never lose our ability to really talk to each other, face-to-face. We need to remember the Internet is just a tool, and treat it as such.
So now I plan to purposely disconnect from cyberspace once a week, so I can purposely plan to re-connect in real-life with the people I care about (and with all the things I neglect along the way).
How about you? Do you purposely disconnect yourself from your computer? Why? What do you gain? Lose?
In reflecting on my two days of disconnect from the Internet, I have to say it was somewhat more productive on the home front but the thought of opening my e-mail box fills me with dread. I also feel re-charged and somehow more whole. The other thing I’ve noticed is that I feel more connected to my real life, even though I’ve clearly become disconnected from the Internet crowd. Have you missed me? I doubt it. However, I suspect that if I were to somehow get sucked into cyberspace, my family and friends might actually miss me.
A small epiphany in Epiphany. I hadn’t realized (well maybe I did have an inkling) how much I wasn’t getting done in the attempt to get these Internet things done. Truthfully I spend a lot of time on the computer doing the job search thing, doing stuff for St. Andrew, and stuff for the Boy Scout troop. In order to make all these Internet connections, I had to let some of my real-life connections pile up in the corner.
After un-decorating our Christmas tree last night, I telephoned my friend with whom I also connect on Facebook. It was a great conversation. We made plans to get together because we haven’t seen each other in person since early December. It’s hard to have that real-time, real-life dialogue on the Internet, even though it certainly is possible with chat and Skype, etc. It just isn’t the same. I read her Facebook postings and occasionally comment, but it is SO much more real to talk to her in person. I hadn’t forgotten this. I know this. But sometimes all the “stuff” gets in the way of what is really important…how God intended us to communicate with each other…a true relationship with each other. Sometimes the Internet may make it easy to find connections with people and to instantly or easily send a message, but I hope we never lose our ability to really talk to each other, face-to-face. We need to remember the Internet is just a tool, and treat it as such.
So now I plan to purposely disconnect from cyberspace once a week, so I can purposely plan to re-connect in real-life with the people I care about (and with all the things I neglect along the way).
How about you? Do you purposely disconnect yourself from your computer? Why? What do you gain? Lose?
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