After almost 7 months of marriage, the time finally came for my hubby and me to take our honeymoon in a tropical paradise. It’s no secret that this winter has been a rough one, so we were looking forward to it with great anticipation- even maintaining an hourly countdown to departure. 3 days before we left, almost-record low temps blanketed the area, leaving us stir crazy to say the least.
Before we left, I told my husband we were taking a break…
from technology, that is.
I asked him to commit to a whole week without carrying a cell phone or iPad around, tuning out the noise of the world. He reminded me that the cost of using phones were nothing less than outrageous for “being connected,” so the temptation to cheat would be greatly reduced. When we arrived at the resort, there were wi-fi hotspots and computer stations set up all over the place, but we remained committed.
We woke up each day not knowing what the weather would be doing.
We had no clue what was happening past the next 3 beach chairs.
Sports scores and Facebook statuses were forgotten and irrelevant.
It… was… AMAZING.
At first I was a little uneasy at the thought of leaving everything to chance, and we decided to keep a phone on for emergencies, but it stayed in the room and was rarely checked.
One of the first and most profound things that I noticed was how much TIME you have when you aren’t “connected” around the clock. We showed up early for most activities (and I tend to run at least 5 minutes late), and had plenty of time to really stop and enjoy our surroundings and talk about everything.
People say that our generation has lost the ability to converse. If you want to test yourself, leave your phone at home for a few days and rely on face-to-face conversations. Yes- it was challenging to come up with things to talk about at times, but in those moments, we learned how to be comfortable with silence- another Lost Art.
Being back home has been a bigger adjustment than leaving. I found so much enjoyment out of disconnecting that I’ve had a hard time forgetting to carry my phone! I’m setting a goal to continue consciously shutting out the noise of social media for a time each day in order to connect with loved ones and unwind.
I challenge you to join me- put down your phone and close your laptop for even an hour a day.
Trust me: YOU HAVE TIME.
And once you develop a routine, you may even look forward to it!
So… are you in?
