The View from The Bridge – Unplugging, The Real Recharge!

Just imagine- no email, cell phone, social media, not even the TV for an hour a day. This would truly be the recharge all of us need to find a quick moment of peace and really see and hear more clearly the woes and pleasures of life. Before mobile devices and endless sources of technology, we actually had better focus and transparency about our surroundings, families, hobbies and priorities.

It’s a new day and a different world. Everywhere we go, there is a cell/iPhone, iPad, laptop, iPod, digital camera or some sort of wireless device very near (and did I say dear?) and of course it has to be the latest and greatest on the market. We tell ourselves that this really keeps us connected with whats going on, but does it? I sometimes find myself saying if I text my daughter in her bedroom I will probably get a faster response than just yelling for her to come to dinner. Incredible! This really makes me feel connected to my family. We must stop kidding ourselves! I am definitely not condemning the benefits of technology but I am also certainly convinced of the benefits of unplugging to reap the real benefits of what’s truly becoming a lost art- effective face-to-face communication.

In what some would call our “yester years,” you would not even think of sending an email to ask such personal questions as we do today and then expect a response, nor dare deliver terrible news. But now what do we say? “Just text it,” or “Send them an email.” Change has arrived and prompted a new mode of communicating, or should I say not communicating. True focus and clarity have gone out the window, and been replaced with short abbreviated letter messages someone made up and called a plausible language that everyone had to learn and follow. Oh, did I forget to say that you could even add your own letters too, not tell anyone what they meant, and take it for granted that everyone understood? Move over Webster’s, you have been replaced!

As I finish typing this article and decide to unplug from our tech world and fix dinner for my family, I leave you with a few parting tips:

1. De-tech and you will de-stress- YOLO (You Only Live Once)
2. Ditch the touch screens and spend less money online- The more you touch the screen the more you will want to purchase the items when shopping online.
3. Leave your phone while out with family & friends- Check it later; the messages will still be there.
4. Smart phones actually boost your stress levels- You are constantly holding in one hand a device that will do everything for you; real smart right? The problem: you actually let it!
5. Ban technology at the dinner table.
6. Instead of allowing children to take technology to their bedrooms to recharge overnight, take it in your room.
7. Live, laugh, and love the old fashioned way- for real and out loud! No “LOLs” allowed!
8. Practice mindfulness- the act of being present!

Until Next Time, Be Sincere, Kind and Intentional
Jackie Warner, Community Outreach Specialist
Email: thebridge.us@gmail.com
By: Jackie Warner