The Great Disconnect

This started out being the summer of the great disconnect.

That’s right, I got disconnected. For four days! I had no internet access and no cell service- nada. Granted, the circumstances were somewhat unusual. A friend cajoled me into joining him at a camp on a pond in the northern woods of Maine. No Facebook. No Instagram. No Twitter. No email. No cell service.

It was horrible.

Before I left, my friend also told me:  there’s no electricity, plumbing or running water. The only fresh water to be had was from a spring about a half mile down the road. Hot water? Boil it on the wood burning stove.

I thought to myself, “John, you can do this!”

So after a 6 hour drive to a small town in northern Maine, I rendezvoused with my friend. Then it was another 45 minute drive down rugged dirt roads.

Much to my relief, I did have a roof over my head for sleeping.

But that was about the only good thing that happened.

Get this…

Even though I could get up when I felt like it, the early morning sun would wake me up.

The *made from scratch* made meals were a chore and tasted terrible.

I had to tie my own flies in order to go fishing?

The fish were ugly.

Do you know how boring it is taking naps?

Cocktails on the deck every afternoon were SOOO boring.

Let me tell you.  The evening canoe paddles were the worst.

I truly tried to slow down and notice the little things around me. But that’s all there was to do…

And to wind down the day with a night cap around an open fire under the night sky?

I mean, “Really!!!”

What can I say???

Let me tell you, it was pretty tough sledding,

NOT…

I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

I’ve been “vaguely aware” of the “headwinds” I battle with every day for some time. But it wasn’t until I was at a place like this, with just my thoughts and my senses that I truly understood the depth and pervasiveness of the constant bombardment and interruption from email and social media.  All demanding/expecting instant responses. How fractured my days had become.

I began to understand that all that connectedness, didn’t necessarily mean I was connected. I felt how calming and natural it was to slow down and to pick up my head and eyes and look around.  To reconnect with the world around me.  A world I can see, touch, hear, taste and feel.

My hope for you, dear reader, is this: during this long Fourth of July weekend you make time to put your phone down. Turn it off. (And your computer…). Go off the grid for a few days. No internet. No Facebook. No Instagram. No Twitter. No email.

Find a quiet place where you can be in the moment.

I think you’ll find you like it.

I sure did.

(By the way, the fishing was FABULOUS!)

And the fish tasted just a little better, trust me, after 4 days of my senses being re-awakened in a small cabin out in the woods in Northern Maine.

Walden Pond…. I hear you calling my name.

~~~~

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