I'm unpacking today and doing load after load of laundry after a week spent up north with the fam.
Did you know that's what Michiganders say when we head north?
Upnorth :)
It's a funny saying, really, but I love it.
Ryan and I look forward to this low-key time together every year with our kids when we tap out of nearly all electronic communication – the computers stay home and the phones go on airplane mode most of the day - and I organize a meal plan and shop ahead of time so I don't have to spend time thinking about it on our trip.
All of this to soak in family time, sunshine, water, nature, and down time and play time.
Our boys used to spend their days digging holes in the sand with digger trucks, playing catch, running about with their imaginations and soaking up the sand and sunshine and running around in the woods at night.
Nowadays, we play tennis and golf, lounge on the beach with a good book and lots of beach snacks, skip stones and swim out to the sandbar and have real life conversations around the campfire that don't include logistics about who needs to be where and when.
This is the gift of unplugged time.
Soaking in the quiet, uninterrupted space with each other and our boys.
Listening to the sounds of nature as the campfire crackles.
Making memories and listening to each other's ideas and interests.
Laughing a lot.
Lingering slowly over morning eggs and coffee.
Feeling the wind in our hair as we ride bikes under the canopy of trees.
Leaving the email and work and phones and schedules at home and...
Breathing in a SLOWER pace….
Restoring. Recharging. Reconnecting.
You've heard me say this before, Debbie...
==> I'm a huge advocate for unplugged time.
Whether it's a week of vacation or a Sunday or even just a few hours here and there, to me, the intentional act of turning off the computer, the emails, the texts and the phone calls IS imperative for unplugged time.
You can be on vacation and still be fully connected to the world and the news and all the things that can truly distract us from the gifts of the present (and precious) moments.
So as I reflect on the gifts of unplugged time this past week, here's my weekend wish for you...
==> Put away your phone and unplug from all devices, including television and movies.
Notice what comes up for you when you do.
Are you comfortable with the space in between?
Do you feel like you need to stay connected? Will you miss an important call or text?
Can you put your device on Focus mode and only allow the truly necessary accessibility in case of emergencies or for your kiddos?
If we are always plugged-in, how can we truly know stillness? Know rest?
I love how Wayne Muller talks about this in his book Sabbath:
"Sabbath honors the necessary wisdom of dormancy. If certain plant species, for example, do not lie dormant for winter, they will not bear fruit in the spring. If this continues for more than a season, the plant begins to die. If dormancy continues to be prevented, the entire species will die. A period of rest - in which nutrition and fertility most readily coalesce - is not simply a human psychological convenience; it is a spiritual and biological necessity. A lack of dormancy produces confusion and erosion in the life force.
We, too, must have a period in which we lie fallow, and restore our souls. In Sabbath time we remember to celebrate what is beautiful and sacred; we light candles, sing songs, tell stories, eat nap and make love. It is a time to let our work, our lands, our animals lie fallow, to be nourished and refreshed. Within this sanctuary, we become available to the insights and blessings of deep mindfulness that arise only in stillness and time. When we act from a place of deep rest, we are more capable of cultivating what the Buddhists would call right understanding, right action and right effort. In a complex and unstable world, if we do not rest, if we do not surrender into some kind of Sabbath, how can we find our way, how can we hear the voices that tell us the right thing to do?"
And so it is for us...
As I return back home from this unplugged time away, I'm reminded of how important this is...
If you are someone who is always connected...
And you find your brain always running, always thinking and overthinking, always filling space with the ringer on high and the default to check your phone or television or social media...
...let this be an invitation to you to unplug and notice what comes up for you when you do.
