Ever just want to escape? Away from your cell phone, Blackberry, computer, television, radio, anything and everything that connects you to the outside world?
One of the ways I escape is to ride my bike at 6 AM, up the hill to the Observatory. There is no noise except for the cawing of the crows, the sound of my bike chains and my heavy breathing. The silence wraps around me like a hug from my mother, and envelopes me into this space of clarity.
Another favorite is after laundry day. The bed sheets are crisp and smell like Tide. It will be mid-afternoon, and I will crawl under the puffy duvet, and pull the covers up to my chin. It is a luxury to lay there when everyone else is working, I will submerge myself further under the cover with a smile that says "You can't find me here". I can hear my breathing and the sound of my feet whisk at the sheets. In this cocoon I can think and emerge with ideas as wings.
To be "present" we have to stay connected at all times, we listen for the email ping, the vibration of the phone and parry the multiple online chats. We stay so connected that we loose our tethering to ourselves . I am connected to you and you and you, but I am floating unanchored because I don't make time to ground myself in the stillness.
Disconnect once in a while, it will be the only way you will remain on the ground.
Credit: This post was inspired by my friend Derrick Jefferson, we spoke about the anniversary of his beloved mother's passing next week and the smell of Tide. As all conversations go with friends, we manage to cover everything from the important to the mundane because we are able to navigate through life with each other as the other's anchor.
Image: Ophelia Chong / My Love Is Waiting
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i loved this article! it was timely for me, too, not only bc I love what ophelia is saying about disconnecting, but bc I'm wanting to get a bike again. I think it's fate :) i need to chill out *and* get a bike.
O.o I have the same fondness of Tide and fresh laundry!
Thank you for your gentle reminders to connect with nature, and connect with others outside of our digital homes.
Thank you Diana, and you know how much I appreciate your comments. :O) When you get a bike we can go for my favorite ride up the hill. :O) ophelia
Isn't Tide the best? I also love the Lavender scented softener. Clean sheets evoke memories and feelings that you wouldn't think such a mundane thing would. It might be the laying down in a bed of clean sheets that you can sleep knowing that the day will start fresh as when you closed your eyes.
Thank you very much for visiting and commenting Emily, I appreciate it and it is never taken for granted. :O) Ophelia
Didn't everyone's mother (and now us) use Tide? I'm at my mom's house right now and I can smell it wafting from the laundry room!
I think you are right, every mom uses Tide. That iconic swirl on the box and the smell of the powder is first in my mind as opposed to the other brands. Smells can trigger so many memories, good and bad. I could be walking outside and get a whiff of jasmine and instantly go back to my childhood in Hong Kong; or be in the kitchen and have the scent of rice send me to my home in Toronto while my mother is cooking dinner.
It is wonderful to have these memories, not only stored in our heads but our noses.
:O) thank you for visiting and commenting Michael. :O)
Whaa? Me, disconnect with no Blackberry, internet, MP3, television, or radio????
Dear Ada,
It's not easy. When I travel without a computer I actually take note of where there is an internet connection that i can use. Once I do disconnect I am able to read all the books I have piled up. But have I ever gone without any communication? TV? nope. It would be really really strange.
:O) Thanks for visiting and commenting, you are such a star, and I appreciate it. ;O) ophelia
that's one of the nice things about not having cell/internet use on flights... one can catch up on magazines that have been piling up or go through and clean up email inboxes while offline.
Hi Stephen!
I also like sharing all the magazines and papers I bring on the plane. On the last flight, I actually couldn't sleep anymore so I brought out the laptop and worked. The only part that was not fun was having the kid next to me make comments on my desktop image (it's of a rain storm).
Thanks for visiting and commenting! :O)) ophelia
Yeah! What you said!
Bike riding... and video games. Nothing is more exhilarating than being in control of your destiny then exercising the thumbs and the mind in the gaming world.
Bike riding I can understand, I am not a game player, and I should be though. My thumbs need a work out. They are small weak little things. :O) Thanks for commenting.;O)