I’ve just returned from 3 weeks in Europe, and since I am probably one of the few remaining souls on the planet who is still not in the possession of an I-phone or the like (yet), I have had very little access to the internet, emails, FB etc and even this blog. The world is set up for people who have these tools so if like myself, you do not, you can drift through life in total ignorance of this online world happening around you, blissfully unaware of the wifi code for the hotel or the bad reception in your room. It is actually a joy to be offline for a while, I highly recommend it.
So it was with a little trepidation when I turned on the lap top today and connected to my website and the blog. It even took me several attempts to get the password correct (and I did return home a week ago, so it took me that long to gather the courage, as if my website was going to bite me or something).
I was rather hesitant because after all, the point of blogs and social media is that they are supposed to be up to date and relevant, but what if the author just simply doesn’t want to connect or can’t?
In my line of work I find the power of connecting and using technology a real double edged sword – both incredibly powerful, yet also isolating and damaging. On the one hand I understand how fabulous it is for business and I do love connecting with friends and clients from all over the world relatively effortlessly via social media or the internet in some form. However the virtual, all encompassing, aspect of this technology just doesn’t sit so well with my hands-on lifestyle. My life, my work, my passion involves real living, pulsating life-force energy, green growing plants, blossoming flowers, herbs that need harvesting, plants that require nurturing, a farm that necessitates hands-on real work, not just tapping on a key board or uploading photos or virtually watering virtual plants. Plus, I actually enjoy all the real stuff more than the static face of my computer screen staring back at me with endless lists of mundane FB posts or flashy graphics.
I know there are many plant people, Herbalists, Reiki Practitioners, energy workers and Shamans who feel the same way about technology. I know I am not alone! When you work with such vibrant and magical energies, the attraction of that is much stronger than the dazzle of a you tube video doing the rounds. I feel like some of the information out there on the internet is coated in fairy glamour, drawing us in to its web, with no real substance at the heart of it, we need to see it with our eyes wide open and our feet firmly place on Mother Earth. However, perhaps that is a topic for another day.
Anyway, I don’t wish to rant, I just wanted to share how wonderful it is to be offline for a while, to resist the urge to check FB or emails every few minutes. Maybe to even leave someone hanging and waiting for a response from you, rather than responding immediately. So I urge everyone to involve yourself in real stuff, real friendships where your five senses (or six!) and tenderness play the major role and use your online connections to enhance what is real, rather than to create what is only a virtual reality.
I love being offline – can you say the same? …
But obviously I am back online now in between transplanting, sowing, harvesting herbs and hanging out with my all things growing in my garden.