On Unplugging and Having Faith
image via my friend Kristin
I’ve mentioned recently that I’ve been very introspective and very reflective in the last few months. I’ve just been taking inventory of a lot of things in my life and where I’m placing my priorities.
However, above all, there have been a couple of things I’ve been hyper-focused on in the last few months that I guess I sort of need to just word-vomit about in order to continue the process of, well, thinking about them.
One is this idea of “unplugging.” I’m in sort of a Catch 22, or something. I work from home, and I blog, and I’m just a naturally “social” person, so I always feel like I have to be connected. But, I often feel like I have to be connected to the things I don’t want to be connected to, yet I’m disconnected from the things I do want to be connected to. I have to be connected to email and social media because, it’s the nature of what I do. However, since I work from home, there are times when I truly feel like I’m never “off work.”
I don’t feel like I get a break. I’m always either at my desk working or playing with Lilly. Well, Lilly’s play area happens to be right next to my desk. So, the spaces are in many ways, interchangeable. I don’t have an office I can leave at 5:30pm and forget about until the next day. And since Lilly is so much more active during the day, I’m working that much more at night now.
I don’t want you to hear this as complaining in any sense of the matter… this is just merely a statement of fact. I’m so thankful that I’m able to work for a company that allows me to work from home so that I can help support our family and also be home with Lilly. But, it definitely comes with its challenges.
So, I’ve been trying my darndest to really be better about unplugging. I’ve just been implementing little things here and there to “shut off” from the world and be present with my family and give myself a mental break.
I’ve been plugging my phone in the charger in our bedroom once my husband gets home from work and only checking it every once in a while to see if I’ve missed an emergency call or something like that. Or, I just shut it off all together. I don’t have it out at the dinner table, I don’t have it out while we’re watching TV… I keep my phone away so I’m not even tempted to look at it.
And with Lilly, I’m trying to do better about only having my phone out if I absolutely have to. Otherwise, it’s put away and I’m being present with her.
Cell phones (smartphones, in particular) are both the greatest invention ever and my worst enemy.
The other thing I’ve been thinking a lot about is the idea of having faith. John and I are in a season right now where we’ve had to make some big decisions about different things and work through some challenges we have been facing. I’ve always been the one to feel like I have faith and trust that God is going to provide – but sometimes, even I (the eternal optimist) become terrified with a decision or milestone or impending event that I know is going to bring about big changes.
I only share about 10% of my life on this blog. Probably even less than that. I realize it seems like I share a lot more… but I don’t. Honestly. And there have been some trials that John and I have faced recently that we’re trying to decipher what lesson God is trying to teach us. It’s all definitely brought us closer because we’ve had to talk things through, weight pros and cons, and prayerfully consider whether or not we’re making the right choice(s).
I guess, through all this rambling, I’m just trying to say that it’s all about perspective and keeping our eyes on God and trusting that His plan is greater than our own. Because it is. I know that the next few months are going to be awesome and scary and wonderful and terrifying all at the same time… but I know that He works for the good of those who love Him. Which means that we will be just fine. In fact, we’ll be more than fine. We’ll be great.
What about you? You struggling with anything similar? How do you handle it?
How do YOU unplug? Do you have this problem, too?
I’ve been trying to set aside time to social media/blog… then shut if off! I feel like I can get stuck in an awkward not really working, but not really paying attention to my babe. Now I try to focus 100% on what I am doing at the moment.
Good luck with all your decisions 🙂 I will be praying for you!! Those times are tough… Felt like that has been me for the last year lol
I think I do a good job of being unplugged when everyone else in my house is awake. I am usually up later than the kids and Will, and that’s my time for all things internet. Of course, I should probably be asleep 🙂 But, I like to unwind by watching Youtube (like you didn’t already know this!) or scrolling through Instagram. And on the weekends, I have a hard time even getting to the computer or Kindle or phone because we’re always doing something. I think if I’d had a smart phone when our oldest was born, I would’ve needed to consciously unplug a bit more … if that makes sense.
Being unplugged is so important. I do not have a family yet but my partner and I both work full-time hours in the education sector and much of our time is spent in front of computers. It was starting to have a real effect on my health – chronic headaches, migraines, weight gain, general low mood. Then I started my blog to connect with other people (I don’t have any local friends or family, my wonderful friends all live over an hour away or more and my family are 3 hours away), to indulge in and encourage my hobbies, to become more positive and reflect on aspects of my life. But this does involve yet more time in front of the computer so I have other methods to help. Firstly and most importantly is to spend time with a) my boyo and b) other loved ones so I make an effort to see friends once a month, I spend time after work chatting to my Boyo about our days, I include him in all aspects of my life, we 100% love each other and sharing is part of that. Secondly we moved house, we now live much closer to my work so our commute is drastically reduced which means more time together and less time wasted and we live in a beautiful countryside village – it is hard to be all stressed out when you see hills and fields instead of hustle and bustle. Finally this is the thing that keeps me sane and happy and it is free and unplugged from all technology; we go for walks, we enjoy the beautiful country we live in, we enjoy the nature we see and the splendid views, we chat to each other, we take time to look around, we hold hands and we have fun. Sometimes good clean fresh air (even when the weather is awful, I do live in Scotland after all!) can work miracles.