Tired of Screening Instead of Being?

It’s been a long hard winter of spending many a day inside planted in front of this computer of mine. I love and hate this blessed and cursed place. The warm outside temps that got me to the park for a mid-afternoon walk today further drove home what I have been sensing lately which is that while I love to write and create here, I am also feeling I have not been living “in” the world and instead have been staying quite removed. It’s time to make a change because:

Besides having a desperate need to move something more than my fingers, I miss having a direct & live experience “in” the world!

Several months ago sensing that the growing hours of my computer time was becoming problematic, I instigated a weekly 48-hour moratorium on-screen time. Okay, I confess to some Facebook surfing and texting a few friends from my phone. But seriously, I have been pretty resolute in my weekend devotion to: be “in” the world and not “in” my computer.

I do things like; cook yummy meals for my family, practice yoga, create art in my studio, or make love with my husband. And I also take walks in the woods outside our house. While I can’t get so far these days given the depth and volume of snow, the challenge of moving through the thick white covered landscape is invigorating underscoring that “in” the world experience my soul craves.

Just yesterday wandering outside I took a break to sit in the sun at a wonderful sit spot looking out over the frozen river that runs next to our house. I just sat spacing out and feeling the (unusual) warmth of the sun on my face. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I caught something moving. Startled and surprised I gave out a little “wow” sound which scared away the bird that had magically appeared on my lap. Equally caught off guard my winged friend flew up into a near by branch and proceeded to chirp back at me. Had it been spring I may have thought I had interrupted its nesting habits. That not being the case though leaves me with no obvious explanation for this surprising encounter.

While probably there is a logical reason for why that bird ended up on my lap, I am more interested in considering what is there for me to receive from this odd meeting? I have decided to believe that the bird was a sacred messenger reinforcing what my gutt has been telling me;

Move away from the screen and be “in” your life!

This is something I suspect we all must find our way into doing daily not just on the weekends. Without turning this into my rant on how our global obsession with screen time is interfering with our capacities to: connect to one another face to face or to simply be alone in and with nature, I hope simply to get you to consider this idea of being “in” the world more.

So now I ask you:

What might become possible for you if you took time off from sitting in front of your computer, i-pad, or cell phone screen?

Where would you go?

What would you do?

And finally:

How would it feel to know you could get up from your chair after reading this and tune into the big beautiful world that we are all a part of?

Please do write back and let me know.
I am sure others will be both comforted & inspired by your response!

In kind always,
Susanna