Gwen Bell left cyberspace last month. She produced no tweets and her blog lay empty. Other places she frequented on the web were also void of her voice.
Now that August has come, she returned. Waxing on a blog post and echoing it on Twitter, Gwen elaborates:
I started the month riding every thought wave. Any time a thought appeared I wrote it down. By the end of the month I was watching thoughts without attaching to them, and they had less of a grip on me. I was practicing moment to moment mindfulness, reading books start to finish (rather than my previously preferred simul-reading), sitting – and by the 16th of the month, something deep within me clicked.
…. I found space to be still inside myself, to allow thoughts to arise, but not to engage them, while listening. I practiced engaging with myself and in conversation, with empathy.
That’s all and well but if the point of her sabbatical was to unplug and enjoy summer, then I question if 30 days was enough time away.
She didn’t take a vacation. She took a sabbatical. That was the word she used last month when explaining her action she was about to take.
Sabbatical, as a word, is derived from a biblical synonym for the Sabbath; a period of time when the land rested. While the biblical time period was a month, college professors plan sabbaticals for a year to focus on projects. Wouldn’t you agree productivity is more constructive when there is a longer amount of time to get away?
I can’t help but wonder how her perspective would be different if she returned to the blogosphere and Twitterville at an undetermined day and time and not a date she scheduled in advance. Isn’t that what living in the moment is truly about?
{ 16 comments }
I totally think you’re right about “living in the moment”. Sometimes we should get away from the humdrum of everyday life whenever we can and enjoy it to its fullest. After all, enjoying “the good moments” of our life is what matters most.
Felicia recently wrote High Stakes legend Martonas back at the tables
Living in the moment needn’t include “getting away” from anything — but living with(out) it.
“I question if 30 days was enough time away.” – I would agree Ari, as for some people, that is just a bit longer than a holiday, and you wouldn’t (well I wouldn’t) check my emails etc. when on holiday.
“I can’t help but wonder how her perspective would be different if she returned to the blogosphere and Twitterville at an undetermined day and time and not a date she scheduled in advance. Isn’t that what living in the moment is truly about?” – I completely agree Ari, if she plans it, its sort of like not doing it as effectively.
The problem with detaching yourself for any length of time though is that things update and change, and if you are away for too long it can be a real challenge to adapt to the new way of things.
Christopher Roberts recently wrote Formula 1 Carbon Cuts
You imply detachment is negative, yet there are countless people who are detached — from the angle they never signed up for such and such account in the first place. One who doesn’t read and reply on Twitter for so many days feels detached, yet that person’s neighbor may not have a Twitter account and doesn’t feel detached. Which begs the question what is necessary and what is nice.
Thankfully, before I stepped away from the Web, I employed the help of Kaileen Elise. She helped keep me up to date by sending me daily digests of what was happening on the social Web.
The point was to refresh myself creatively/spiritually while continuing client work. Happily, with the arrangement I made before stepping away, I was able to do both. The month was a trial period. As I mention to Ari, I’d love to do it for a longer period of time eventually (three months to start, then six, then a year, perhaps).
A year-long sabbatical sounds wonderful. The thought has crossed my mind. I think Stefan Sagmeister is on to something with seven years on, one off: http://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off.html
If it crossed your mind, how come you didn’t act on it?
Twitter: waynejohn
August 4, 2010 at 10:41 AM
All I’m trying to do online is fund my permanent vacation. However, a sabbatical for one month is a good start. I think that by the end of that though, I’d be wishing for more.
Seems that whenever I try to take a step back, my mind begins to revel in thoughts and ideas that bring me right back online.
Wayne John recently wrote Spammers are dolts -OR- How to build links like an idiot
A vacation from where, to where? And when?
I think to each his/her own… I like structure, so if I were to take some time off, the 30 day limit would be good for me.
Instead, on a recent vacation, I stayed connected. I didn’t have cell phone service, but the web was available, and I used it daily for the 9 days I was away. It worked out well for me, my “connected” time dropped by 70% or so, and I came back fully refreshed.
That said, this seven years on / one year off thing sounds pretty killer…
James recently wrote Atlantic View
How did your connectedness drop 70% if you used the web the whole time? Talking on the phone is that much of a time sink, vs the web?
It sounds to me like a month away was about what she needed. If, halfway through, she noticed change happening… that should have been indicative that her plan was working. Had it not happened until Day 28 or so, however, that may have been a signal that she needed more time away.
The question then becomes how much we adapt to our own self-imposed deadlines, and how much they are a function of our own intuition as to what we need? Also — not everyone can function with a deadline (whether internally or externally imposed), but some of us do need them or else nothing will ever get accomplished — be it a project or a different way of living and working.
Christa M. Miller recently wrote Defining value- whose point of view is it- anyway
How would you answer your questions on deadlines, functions, and intuitions?
Ha — I started to and then it turned into something far too long.
I myself work better with deadlines, and I have set them for myself not just in work, but also in times of grief and stress: I allow myself so many days to fall apart, then I know I have to get my crap together, and I do, in general. For me that is intuitive, so “adapting” to an artificial deadline is not really the issue. I just wondered if it might be for other people, is all.
Twitter: staceycav
August 7, 2010 at 3:47 PM
I recently took a 2 week holiday and decided I would use that time to “unplug” too.
However, 5 days in and I got the ‘itch’ to check my emails, my blog and my social media channels.
The conclusion? Umm… perhaps I’m a little addicted to digital communication?
Oh well
My name’s Stacey and I’m a Tweet-oholic.
Stacey recently wrote 5 Stalker-Like Tendencies Facebook Has Instilled in us ALL!
When you write you itched to check, how did that itch occur? Because your phone or computer was convenient for you to use?
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }