I’m going to say one of those things you swear you will never say as you grow up – ‘When I was a kid…’ Actually I am not going to say it like that, but I am going to think it. What I really wish to say is ‘Remember the days when you could only be phoned in your home?’ Many of you won’t, and a few of you might. I’m talking about the days before the mobile phone. Before the internet and interconnectedness.
The Good Old Days
I am harking back, because I spent a lot of time working and sitting quietly in the garden this week, sans phone, thinking about how connected we are these days. And how interconnectedness directs our lives. With modern technology today it is possible to be essentially anywhere in the world and be connected to the rest of the modern world at the push of a button. It may be through a mobile (cel) phone or the internet.
Maybe being interconnected is a godsend for many, many people. I for one am super glad I can speak with and see my parents, an ocean away, easily via WhatsApp. However, my well out of date phone has limited ability beyond that. And no, I am not in a rush to upgrade to the latest. With the extortionately ‘acceptable’ costs of phones today, I prefer my money be focused more where it’s needed, on my restoration works. (Honestly, I just bought a fridge for my eventual kitchen at 1/4 of the cost of most phones. That’s nuts.)
Why Be Connected?
Because although I do love and make use of interconnectedness, I choose to sometimes ‘switch off’. To be out of reach. I actually consider myself lucky to remember the days when the only way to reach you was if you were inside your house and could hear your phone ring. Now importantly, I don’t hark back to those days, but I am glad I remember them. These memories show me an alternative, making certain I am a little less reliant that younger generations.
I am geeky enough and love technology enough to like where we are today. But, and this is a big but (okay now that song is in my head), I also love choosing not to be connected. The weird thing today is that it feels weird to go ‘sans’. And that in itself is weird, when you sit down and think about it. Which you may note, I did.
Outside Interconnectedness
It is not difficult at all, for me, to go to my local shops or into the garden without my phone. And thus far I do not have wifi available in my garden for my laptop. I am though thinking of getting my wifi boosted into the garden. And after reading the above you are probably thinking what!?. I know, sometimes I do too. It’s just I love love love to work outside, and that includes my office work. There is something so special about being able to sit out in the sunshine (or undercover in the rain) and be able to do what I need to do for my jobs.
And a good part of those jobs includes needing to connect via the internet. (Well given my work, besides my guiding, is writing blog pieces – for others as well as my own site – and having online shops and, um, yeah interconnectedness is a good thing.) At the moment, I still do take my laptop outside to work, it’s just not connected. All my work that can be done on this glorified typewriter, like writing or editing photographs, is taken outside. Then I have to come inside to upload and undertake all the other work I need to do that requires being connected.
Could You Turn It Off?
I will both love and dislike (though not hate) the day when I bring wifi into the garden. The trick I know to making it work, at least for me, is knowing when not to connect. When to turn it off, or quite simply not use. A strange concept today, but makes for a surprisingly blessedly quiet time, at least in the mind. It truly does.
So here’s a challenge. Next time you go outside, don’t take your mobile (or cel) phone with you. See if you notice or think about it. And if you do, does that make you uncomfortable, or do you prefer always being available to others or connected to the universe? I would be curious to know.
More Musings
If you enjoy my musings on a simpler life, there are more articles to read in Finding a Simpler Living. Simply my thoughts on life, quiet time, me time, even nap time.
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