Have you recently gone AWOL without any form of communication for a few days? I have to say I’ve not done this in many many years. I’ve always had a mobile phone within reach, or an Internet connection handy – even if it is just GPRS. This weekend, I’m going AWOL. No laptop, not mobile phone, about the most technological thing I’ll have is my wristwatch (and that’s analogue too!). I’m taking a good old fashioned pen and paper for anything that I need to write down and think I can’t remember.
In this day and age, we take many things for granted, technology is one of those things, and I think it behoves us as responsible individuals to sometimes take a few steps back and look carefully around us to see where we are, what we are doing, where we are going and how we are going to get there. The same holds true for all aspects of our lives, our relationships, friendships, business plans, everything. We need to stop and think. Ask questions. Smell the roses. If you don’t you might find out too late that you’ve missed something really fantastic.
In a related note, I’ll be away while EarthHour happens – this is a fantastic demonstration on how reliant we are on technology and how our use of that technology affects the entire globe. So tomorrow night at 8pm, wherever I am, whatever I am doing, you can rest assured that I’ll be in the dark 🙂
I go off the grid at least twice per year – by command of my wife. We usually go camping for a week and intentionally pick places with no cell coverage. And we take no MP3, DVD, PDA, PC or other devices along. It’s rough for the first day or two, but after that, it really helps the unwinding process. Enjoy your time off!