I wrote this blog over two years ago, but never published it. It caught my eye today because I've spent a lot of time talking with my neighbour about what it looks like to leave my phone in the other room and live in the moment.
So without further ado, enjoy my 2-year-old thoughts and I hope your weekend is full of life and NOW. xo.
We’ve been without our computers for the past couple of weeks, with very little
internet, traveling through both Israel and Jordan.
It’s the slowest our lives have been in months, the deepest breath I’ve had in as long
as I can remember.
It’s
been
Fabulous.
We live in a “now” culture, so integrated with the noises and bustle of our
generation that we hardly notice the buzz it creates. We smoothly glide from the
dazzle of one social media platform to one of the myriad of others rather constantly
and without thought.
The irony of me having any sort of social voice is great, as email, a phone call or snail
mail were pretty much the only ways to communicate with me until I got married.
But, along with my hubs, I run a media-based business, dependent on updates, on a
heavy social media presence, on almost instantaneous customer replies. In most
moments, it feels like there is no way around this.
As we’ve stepped away from work the last couple of weeks, let the fringes of our
presence in the world sag, it’s been okay. Actually, it’s been more than okay. No one
has died and our customers will still get their photos on time once we slide back into
our editing seats by the end of this week.
And it’s exactly what our souls needed.
I have always been the kind of person to simply linger in a moment, let the wind
take me where it may. Until. Until I let The Other Things become too big, too loud in
my life that is. Until I miss what’s right in front of me as I fidget with my phone, work
on my endless lists, run from computer to harddrive to meeting to photo shoot.
As we wrap up this year and have hours with our family and friends, I want to
remember the things that truly matter. I want to continue leaving my phone in the
corner and engaging with those in front of me. I will choose to put work on the
backburner and re-look at how I prioritize my life and time.
For we have just this one life, just the day that’s in front of us. And I want to see
every shiny bit of it, the shadows and the sun. I want to stop to linger in the peace of
early morning and let my hugs last a few seconds longer. I want my love to grow
deeper and the grace I extend wider with each passing hour. This I think, lies at the
heart of it all.
