Sunday, March 06, 2011

Logging Off

Over the past few weeks, I've felt compelled to log off of the computer... For days and even two weeks at a time, I have not been logging in to Facebook, nor have I been checking my 'personal' e-mail incessantly after work or on weekends. And I've got to tell you: it feels great.

I'm no longer spending hours at a time playing mindless games or obsessing over what people had for lunch or how they feel about politics. Instead, I've been logging off and actually spending face-to-face time with people, or spending time writing letters and making telephone calls. My husband and I have had some great conversations, as we've been spending time with one another instead of near each other.

Perhaps we don't all need to be as connected as we think. When I do log in to Facebook and other online resources, I realize that I haven't really been missing anything. I feel free!

My cell phone, my only phone that is, does only a few things: text messages and telephone calls. We recently went to our cell phone provider to see about upgrading me, but when I realized that the 'free' phone was going to cost us almost $400 in additional fees over the life of the contract, I decided to stick with my current phone. I don't need to be online all the time, nor do I need to be that accessible to e-mail and other communication channels.

And that, my friends, is why I'm logging off more and more often. I am recommitting myself to reaching out to friends and family the 'old fashioned' way -- through classic letter writing and good old fashioned one-on-one time. So far, it feels great!