Topic of the Week
A Technology Fast
We’ve had an unexpected early snowstorm here in the Northeast and we’ve been without power since Saturday night. It’s always an adventure to be thrust back to where so many of the amenities we use every day – water, heat, electricity, refrigeration, bathrooms, television, computers, etc., are unavailable for an indefinite amount of time. We live in a rural area and it’s not uncommon for us to lose power after a bad storm – sometimes for a few days.
When the power goes out, the removal of everyday activities – television, cooking, email, or surfing the web, allow the simpler pleasures of life to become magnified – staring at the beautiful, white-covered hills outside my bedroom window, listening to the rhythmic sound of melting snow on the metal roof in our sunroom, or watching the funny way our cat Poupon chases the falling snow, racing from window to window, convinced he can catch it before it hits the ground.
While the inability to make a cup of tea, cook a meal, or take a hot shower can feel frustrating at first, after a while, it starts to feel pretty okay. It’s reminds me of the relaxing and pleasurable things we used to do before technology moved into our home. And it got me thinking…
Maybe we all need a technology fast once in a while. Think about it. For a day, an afternoon, an evening, or maybe even a weekend, we could shut off the computers, unplug the TV, silence the cellphones, and look at our lives with new, undistracted eyes. Would you be willing to give it a go?
I’d feel free to use the toilets and shower, though. Let’s not get too crazy 
#x1F600;.
Week 45 – The Purpose of Living: Appreciating moments of great beauty