Take a Technology Fast and Remember How Freedom feels

By Michael Fletcher On August 17, 2011 · 9 Comments

<div xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" about="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kikisdad/69844475/"><a rel="cc:attributionURL" href= There is a warmth to candlelight a warmth that’s has been counteracted in the 21st century. The cold calculated face of technology has stolen that warmth from us. We have light but Somewhere along the way we lost the wonder of light, the glow of candlelight the sound of silence competing with natures orchestra.

I was reminded of my love for that warmth and the sound of that silence last week when some genius in a Coca Cola truck flattened a fairly important pole down the road from me. Plunged into darkness I found myself free. Free from the temptation of the television, free of the drone of the technology, my apartment walls looking a alive as the shadows crept up and down the walls as if chased by the candlelight.

I ended up reading most of the evening in the silence time seemed to be feeling a bit soppy and enveloped me and instead of running away from me as it’s been known to do, we proceeded through the evening in a sweet embrace. For once I didn’t feel rushed or anxious. Technology withdrew and calm descended in the space it left behind.

We tend to underestimate the power of just switching off! We should spend more time unplugged in our own company. When I think about it now it seems very simple why our grandparents seem so unhappy with all of our technological progress. We’ve have technology for everything but where we created sound we ended up with noise, where we tried to simulate life we ended up with empty drama, where we recreated communication we ended up with a soulless net. We created light but we lost the warmth

Take a technology fast:

Switch off your Pc
Switch off your Television
Switch off your phones

Even if for just one evening remind your self that technology is your tool not your crutch.

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9 Responses to Take a Technology Fast and Remember How Freedom feels

Robert Bravery says:
October 6, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I just said to my wife the other day how much we rely on technology. When we, SA that is, were experiencing electricity blackouts a while back, it was refreshing to cook outside on a fire, boil water etc. But soon enough I got ants in my pants, because I could not work on my PC, let alone connect to the internet.
I think most of us will loose it.
A weapon of mass destruction is not a big bomb, but a device that can take out electronics, the electricity grid, phones, etc. All tech, like a EMP pulse. That will certainly destroy a country
.-= Robert Bravery´s last blog ..How to promote your blog by networking =-.
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Michael Fletcher says:
October 6, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Welcome to Monetize your Life Ryan, I meditate daily, however I only realized last week that with my nephew coming to stay with me recently, I very rarely am able to enjoy complete silence. I started waking up a bit earlier since and am definitely finding more of that balance of which you speak.
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Michael Fletcher says:
October 6, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Agreed Robert so much of our lives are digital these days I know that economically I just wish there was some way short of technological genocide to break some of societies dependency on the technological “fluff” that we think we need. I’ve been doing a lot more work offline this week and I’m finding a marked difference in my productivity.
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Ryan Biddulph says:
October 6, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Michael,
I’ve had a similar experience recently. It is an amazing experience to be free of your strongest attachments. I sit in a quiet room at least a few times a day. Observe the attachments and let them go. This has provided more peave and balance in my life than any other practice.
RB
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Country Garden says:
October 18, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Take a Technology Fast and Remember How Freedom feels http://bte.tc/p3X #RTW
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Achieve your goals: Find Time to Do deeply meaningful things in your life | MYL | Monetize Your Life says:
November 4, 2009 at 10:32 am
[...] that’s another part of what this trip is about. Setting off on the long(ish) road and losing myself for a little bit. Hitting the road and just making some stories worth telling with people worth [...]
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Why Rush? says:
November 5, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Take a Technology Fast and Remember How Freedom feels http://bte.tc/p3X #RTW
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Business Coaching says:
July 21, 2011 at 5:01 am
Take a Technology Fast and Remember How Freedom feels http://bit.ly/nNNRmg
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Peggy says:
November 1, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Technology is a wonderful thing. It has brought so much into our lives and we rely heavily on it now, in our every day lives. We use the computer and internet for browsing, reading, education, communication, business, pleasure, recreation, and completing tasks such as making dental appointments, booking flights, etc. We would really be taking a giant step backwards if we gave this up.
However I do think it’s a very good and healthy idea to take a step away from it for awhile from time to time. Like Ryan says, to take some quiet moments to meditate and free ourselves from the addiction of technology long enough to rejuvenate ourselves. Then do it all over again.
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