Unplugging from Technology; Plugging into Life

I often hear of people taking a break from technology, unplugging for a few days or weeks, or giving up Facebook for Lent. My thought has always been “I don’t really need to do that. I use technology as a tool, but I’m not particularly attached to it.” I am usually the last person to get a new piece of technology. I’ve only had a cell phone for a year. I sent my first tweet a month ago. I like to turn my own pages when reading a book, and I enjoy mailing letters I wrote by hand.

I’m reminded of why even I might need a break from technology when I ride my bike. During the summer I ride my bike to work as often as I can. I take the exact same route as I take when I drive, but the experience is completely different. On my bike I can feel the cool breeze and hear the birds singing. I can smell the lilacs as I roll by. I notice things I don’t see when I’m in my car, like animals by the side of the road, unique flowers, or fun mailboxes.

In noticing these things, I realize that using technology (like the car) often blocks us from fully experiencing the world around us. Though technology is a great convenience, and I wouldn’t want to discard it completely, I recognize that taking a break from it can give us the opportunity to fully experience the people and the world around us.

Thomas Merton suggested that you can truly appreciate life if you reach the intersection of NOW, this moment in time; HERE, exactly where you are; and THIS, what you are doing and experiencing. Focusing on distractions, thinking about yesterday or the day after tomorrow, or wishing you were somewhere else can rob you of happiness. Fasting from technology is one tool we can use to help us be in the now, here, this.

At least once today, I invite you to leave your phone in the other room, close your laptop, turn off the tv and the radio, and remind yourself: Right now, I am here, and this is it.