Reluctantly Unplugged...

I never considered myself a person that was dependent on being digitally connected. Last Friday I realized rather quickly that I  had been living a lie. My cell phone died, it turned off and never turned back on.  I received a new phone twenty-four hours later and all was fine but wow did I feel lost without access to my phone, my text messages, my calendar, my pictures, and my social media...

There I was, unplugged and disconnected and feeling almost panicked. I decided to keep myself busy by completing a project I had started the week before- an altered cigar box. I had picked up an old brass turtle drawer pull at a flea market several months ago (my late Aunt Judy was a watercolor artist and always put a small turtle in her paintings) and I knew I wanted to incorporate the turtle into my box.

The weather in north central Ohio has been pretty rainy this summer and last Saturday was sunny and beautiful.  I gathered a handful of supplies, picked three paint colors to work with and headed outside to create.  All I knew for certain was that I wanted to use the turtle on the top of the box.

I limited myself to using only what I had brought outside. This forced me to work with what I had and stretched my comfort zone. Not having my phone to distract me turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Admit it we have all randomly started scrolling on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and before we know it twenty minutes have passed. Since I did not have my phone to distract me I was able to focus and really enjoy the couple of hours I spent working on my box.

Being able to unplug for a while (even if it was not by choice) allowed me to be present and really enjoy what I was doing.  I would like to try to willingly unplug more often even though I know it is going to be a challenge.  We are all so attached to our devices that it is hard to think about what we would do without them. I am going to at least give it a try...