offline – Looking to God

This week has been interesting, don’t you think? Monday, I talked about my binge watching ways of The Walking Dead episodes from AMC. Wednesday, I wrote about Rick Grimes, a small town sheriff’s deputy who finds himself in a real-to-goodness zombie apocalypse. And today? I’m not sure. Perhaps I can talk about zombies, but I have something else on my mind. Forgive me if I go off on a tangent for the next few minutes. Bear with me, folks.

Freedom Friday wouldn’t be the same without me observing something and not telling you about it.

Recently I took the train into the city from my own small town, and although I’ve noticed this before, I’ve never written about it. Seems this is common, and since purchasing an iPhone 6, I’m finding I’m doing the same thing. What am I talking about?

Heads down.

You know what I’m talking about.

Walk into any coffee shop, bus station or simply sit on a park bench. It’s there.

Heads down.

Terrible, isn’t it? There was a time I could stand in line or sit in a waiting room at the doctor’s office where I could strike up a conversation with someone there, talk about the weather, the latest sports scores or anything really. Not anymore.

Heads down.

Even going out to have a meal with the family. Instead of folks paying attention to their menus they’re doing other things that have nothing to do with either the meal or the conversation at hand. In an effort to remain connected, have we disconnected? Well?

Heads down.

I used to love sitting in a movie theater before the feature presentation. I went through the rite of passage of easing the seat back, putting my feet up, and joking with my friends about the silly, stupid things in life that makes us who we are. Hairstyles. Clothes. Talk.

Talk. Talk. Talk.

Not anymore.

Heads down.

It’s silly, isn’t it? We’re living a world where never have we had it so easy to talk with someone, yet we’re still alone.

Train ride. Coffee shop. Bus station. Park bench. Standing in line. Waiting room. Eating out. Movie theater.

What about it? Did you have your head down while reading this?

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Have you noticed it, too?

The other day a friend of mine asked me where I’ve been. I responded with the “what do you mean?” question. They said they hadn’t seen me around lately and was wondering if everything was all right. I said I was right here. They stated they hadn’t seen me online recently. “Oh, that” is what I said, and then explained that I was taking a planned social media vacation. They looked at me as if I was crazy.

I’m not crazy.

A planned social media vacation is exactly as it sounds—time away from the social scene in order to appreciate life. I’ve been planning this for a while, and now that I have a few projects with long timelines in the works, I figure it’s the perfect time to exercise my right to disappear.

Let me explain this in more detail for today’s Freedom Friday post.

I love this time of year. I really do. I’ve written about it countless times, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone. I’m into the whole fall/winter thing—bundling up in my favorite coat, mitts and toque—visiting friends and having a grand ol’ time along the way.

I’m not regretting it. I’m actually enjoying it. I’m in the process of reading three books, watching two TV series, and catching up with a list of summer movies, that if measured, I would estimate it running the length of my arm.

What’s the best part about it? I’m spending more time with the family and less time online, which makes for the perfect segue to mentioning how staying offline keeps my perspective in check. I know I sound like a repeating loop, the kind you hear in one of those awesome rap music videos, but I have no other way to describe it.

How do some folks have time to chat/tweet/message for hours at a time online while life slowly passes them by? It’s beyond my comprehension. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with hopping online to spend minutes posting a few “how-are-you’s” and “thank-you’s”—but all day? Sorry, I’m daft that way. You’ll have to explain it to me.

Here’s a snapshot of my social media life for the next few months: Log into facebook, like and comment on my notifications, and post a link to my latest WordPress post. Log out. Log into Twitter, favorite and comment on my mentions, and post a link to my latest WordPress post. Log out. Quick and simple. No lingering.

I suppose I’m passed that phase where I’m chasing it.

Maybe I’m not taking a social media vacation after all. Maybe, just maybe, I’m taking an anti-social media vacation where I don’t feel guilty for not responding right away to every notification I receive.

Whatever it is, I know it’s the best thing ever.

Dare I say it? Why not try it out, you might like it.

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Have you planned any time away from the social media scene? If so, what are you planning to do with that time?

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