My husband and I were married in the height of the Covid pandemic on January 1, 2021. Due to the circumstances, we had an incredibly small wedding and a very subdued honeymoon.
Two years later, we finally got to have the honeymoon we'd been dreaming of. We just spent six days on a Caribbean cruise. To say our trip was restful would be an understatement. But besides crystal clear waters and unlimited food at all hours of the night, do you know what the best part of being on a ship in the middle of the ocean?
There is no cell signal. And unless you want to pay $10 a day (and we didn't), there's no internet either.
For six whole days I hardly touched my phone. For six whole days I was fully present in what was going on around me. You know what people do when they can’t use their phones? They enjoy a whole lot of nothing: simple pleasures like the sun and the wind on your skin. They read. They nap. They talk to each other. They strike up conversations with perfect strangers. I met someone who is actually neighbors with my elementary school principal. Small world, right? Little moments like that that don’t happen when we are all buried in our phones.
A week without the internet showed me just how exhausting keeping up with the news and social media can be. For a week I couldn't check Facebook. I couldn't see how the station's posts were performing. I couldn't text anyone. I couldn't check my emails. And it was great.
Had we taken a vacation that hadn't forced me to unplug, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed myself as much. I probably wouldn't have felt as rested and relaxed as I did.
The thing is, we don't have to go anywhere to give our brains a little vacation from the constant overstimulation we put them through. We don't have to all be confined to a boat to talk to our fellow man.
My challenge to you this week: put down the phone. Be present. See what happens.