day 23: unplug

We’re keeping it short, simple and not-very-sweet today.

The internet feeds comparison. Social media feeds comparison. The time all of us spend online empowers us to compare more.

Do I look the way I should? How can I get better hair? Better eyes? ______ got married, and I’m not, how come she’s able to find a husband and I’m not? Everyone has children, we don’t. Everyone’s children are better behaved and cuter than ours. _______ lost so much weight and looks amazing, why can’t I?

I have no research to support this, but I am convinced that there is a direct correlation with the daily struggle to compare and the time we spend online.

So today’s task for myself and for all of us is simple – unplug. Spend the day offline. See what happens. Do you find that you think differently? What will you do with the extra time? Spend another day offline. Spend the week offline.

I’ve spent several days without using the computer in the last few months, and those days were filled with fresh things and ease in my spirit. It was so good. I have never made it a week, but who knows what can happen. We convince ourselves that we need the internet, and yes it does make our lives easier. I convert measurements from ounces to grams in seconds, I find the current time in Sri Lanka easily and am able to research the best car seat for Small One. But let’s be ruthless with ourselves – how much time is spent online for information that we need and how much is spent just moving from one page to another and inevitably thinking about our lives in comparison with other people’s? I know what the answer is for me – I spend much more time in camp two than in camp one.

So here’s to a day offline, and here’s hoping for more of them in the months to come.

I’m writing daily in October as part of The Nester’s 31 Days challenge, check out my posts here, and head over to the Nesting Place for other great 31 Days topics.