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Literally CHUCK both all internet connections and your smart phone for a year?
The more I hear of it, the more intriguing it sounds.......truly,the more I get bombarded with so much online, so many feeds, so many social media notifications, so many people expecting you to be on call 24/7 with your cell phone(and p*ssed if you don't "pick up" on the third ring or less), the more I want to chuck both my smart phone, laptop, and all things that beep into the nearest lake/river/body of water..
Of course, some folks today have never used these "things"(or much anyway), and never WERE on the grid in the first place.
Lucky them....
If you are curious, I have a little bit that follows about the "Simple Living" deal...
I lean towards Spirituality, so I am seriously interested in joining this Catholic organization, which is very similar to the Mormon two year missionary program....you have no access to the web or smart phones, live in a communal home sharing chores, and serve in a community for a year, rather than two..
This is from the JVNorthwest Organization website....gives a clue what they are about...
Simple living is an invitation to live more deeply and intentionally, to choose presence and mindfulness instead of being distracted by the noise and busyness of popular culture. Simple living also allows JVs to more fully connect with the communities in which they live and work and to more intently focus on relationships over objects. As an example, JV communities do not have internet connection and many JVs live without a laptop or smartphone. For some, this is a new concept that can be challenging and rewarding. JVs may bring musical instruments and other personal items, but are asked to limit the number of possessions they bring to allow for a new outlook on the community and world around them. JVs are asked to not bring personal vehicles and to discern if they need a laptop or other technology during their year.
I think that would be so literally purifying to get away from all the media and tech noise for a year, have face time with real people devoted to the same of all ages, all volunteering in the community....
This deal is a little more hardcore...somewhat like Amish-lite...
Their motto is "Let us be Pioneers once more".....sweet idea, actually....
Be that as it may, both websites have a ton of ideas on how anyone can find ways to get peace of mind
in today's media obsessed, always online/on demand world....and some beautiful spiritual stuff....
I learned a lot just reading both websites...I doubt I will take it so far as to join one, but who knows, and I definitely want to put some of those ideas into practice...
Sometimes it's all about refinding our soul again.....definitely worth recapturing..
Last edited by scottkuzminski; 11-26-2014 at 10:51 PM..
Me, I don't have a smartphone and I play "submarine games". When my Razor is off, I'm submerged. When it is on, I'm on the surface. And if it is really that important to get a hold of me, we will set up a time table when I'll "have the radio mast up and will be listening".
It seems at this point you either have to be independently wealthy or accept a fairly low standard of living to give up the internet and smart phone. I know retired people that live without either, but it's a pain in the ass for the rest of us to keep up with them. It's like "we shared that information with everyone else via text/email/facebook, but because you have decided to be offline, we have to put that much more effort into contacting you INDIVIDUALLY and delivering information in the archaic channels that you used 40 years ago".
Photograph are a good example. Now a days, printing off hundreds of pictures and hand delivering them to someone so they can pick out the 3 they want is a huge inconvenient expense. Everyone else looks through them electronically and picks the ones they want before taking the time and expense of printing everything out.
It's not a matter so much of being able to do it, but whether living like an impoverished monk is worth it.
........Photograph are a good example. Now a days, printing off hundreds of pictures and hand delivering them to someone so they can pick out the 3 they want is a huge inconvenient expense. Everyone else looks through them electronically and picks the ones they want before taking the time and expense of printing everything out.
It's not a matter so much of being able to do it, but whether living like an impoverished monk is worth it.
Interesting pick of situation because that is not so perfect.
Ie, the photo looks great on the computer on FB but when you print it out to put it in an 8X10 box frame, you see distortions that weren't there in the original. I think it's because a compression occurs in the FB upload.
Smart phone yes
Internet no
TV that went bye bye along time ago. It cost too much to feed with cable or sat. There's also nothing on. I'll watch when I'm traveling, but it looks like I'm not missing much.
Tamara from the Hill Country west of Austin has her own way of dealing with it, per availability mentalities......yep, you can
just have "I am off the grid today, so don't try to reach me or get p'ed off if you cannot" days..absolutely...
Peach feels very connected, like prob most all of us are, to our smart phones and connectivity...I am too..
However, I have a love-hate relationship with my cell phone. I have friends that have "why are you not picking up" issues.
I do waste a lot of time on the web when I could be out with humans, including tonight.....I am not always big on sharing
personal things per privacy issues(amazing what people share...I have seen people actually upload drivers licenses and ID's, not realizing the numbers were on there, just to show how silly they looked back in the day.....or people posting the time they are on vacation, along with their address and pic of their home(might as well just post a sign on the house saying please rob).....
Mkarsh....I really like your well-thought out comments....awesome...Indeed, it can be a pain in the @ss when people choose to live off the grid a bit, and you need to accomodate them(I still know a very few people without e-mails, hard to believe)..
Paper checks another weirded out antiquated issue....usually retirees only ones to use them, and they pull them out at Walgreens, which takes 5 minutes to verify via the routing code #.....Or people that refuse to drive, yet pester you for rides(Hey, would you be going that way anyway?)......It's people that live in both worlds, and take advantage of the new stuff, but won't make themselves available on the same, that are the pain in the @ss, as if they are better than it, yet you still need to cater to them.....
Prob best to either entirely live entirely off or on the grid, not in-between, hence my interest in the 100% simple living movement, for a year anyway, if you want to experiment, or "all in" if not.....great way to reclaim your soul...
Smart phone yes
Internet no
TV that went bye bye along time ago. It cost too much to feed with cable or sat. There's also nothing on. I'll watch when I'm traveling, but it looks like I'm not missing much.
Fargo, why is it, in the 70's when I was growing up, there were just 10 channels, and they had better stuff on, of which half of it is still playing on "classic retro TV" channels over the air and on cable NOW?
Yet, now we have hundreds, and seems like 89% of it is either sports, informercials, or spam religious programming?.......Good deal for you chucking the TV/cable........
Seems like they want to put all that on the net per netflix and amazon...look for all informercials all the time on there as well soon..lol
Fargo, why is it, in the 70's when I was growing up, there were just 10 channels, and they had better stuff on, of which half of it is still playing on "classic retro TV" channels over the air and on cable NOW?
Yet, now we have hundreds, and seems like 89% of it is either sports, informercials, or spam religious programming?.......Good deal for you chucking the TV/cable........
Seems like they want to put all that on the net per netflix and amazon...look for all informercials all the time on there as well soon..lol
I've never had cable or satellite. I watch OTA TV only, and that is far more than enough for me. Anything else I want to see, I can watch online. I don't get how people even have TIME to watch all that stuff on cable. Much less pay those prices!
Chessie, you are SO not missing a d@mn thing.......I watch OTA for local sports and Antenna TV with old shows....nice
backdrop when I'm sleeping..try not to waste time with TV during the day, even in the winter(mostly listen to music or watch things on DVD, where you at least choose what to watch)...
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