We live in a era of connectivity. Never before our time has communicating been so easy. I can on my phone, get the weather, check my email, call someone across the planet, schedule my day, surf the web, play a game, send a multiple texts and do this all before breakfast. We have arrived at a point where if we leave our homes without our devices we feel distraught and in many cases return to pick up said device. I remember the time when a cell phone was a luxury, now a smartphone is a necessity. Or is it?

There is much to be said for unplugging and going offline for periods of time. We need time to be away from the constant onslaught of information. The term information overload is no longer a thing of the future. You can literally be bombarded by so much information that it all becomes meaningless. You must take some time to unplug and be offline. For some of us the first thing we do in the morning is check our phones.  Why? Has something earth shattering occurred while we slept that we must be informed the moment we open our eyes in the morning? Unlikely.

In many cases we are so connected to our devices that we have lost the art of conversation. I have literally seen people in proximity to each other engage in a textversation rather than hold a conversation We have become so dependent on our tech and gadgets that we fail to see each other or appreciate a sunrise or sunset. We we do see something spectacular what do the majority of people do? They pull out their phones. Whatever happened to just being in the moment? It seems that is an antiquated and lost idea.

When we train in the dojo we begin and every class with a short period of meditation. It frames the training to show us that we are where we focus. At the beginning of a class its to get into the right mindset. “I am going to train now. My focus is in the now, the present.” At the end its to return us to our lives outside of the dojo and to remember what we just went through. It also gives a moment to express gratitude fro being able to train.

The irony is not lost on me. If you are a reading this you are either on your phone or a computer. It means you are plugged in. But I want you to consider unplugging even if its for a day a week. Take the time to read a book, go for a walk, have a deep or shallow conversation. Take a moment to look at the sky, enjoy the weather, talk to  people of all ages.  Paint ,draw, write. Do something artistic. do something you haven’t done before. Push yourself and your boundaries. Connect in a different way.

I enjoy hearing from you. Let me know if you were able to unplug even for a day. Was it difficult ? Was it easy? Share with me in the comments.