Unplugged: You should try it sometime

This awesome picture (if I do say so myself) is of the desert, specifically Lone Pine in California. The desert is my favorite place to unplug especially because there is no cell phone service the farther you venture.

Unplugging: The act of turning off your cell phone and/or computer and/or any device for a period of time.

I read a CNN Article, a couple years ago, about the effects that Social Media has on our brains. It focused mostly on adolescents but the fact that the article discussed how our brain gets ‘rewired’ by the gratification they see with ‘Likes’ on their posts, could apply to anyone. The article stated that it affected them differently in the sense that they may be learning to “read likes and shares instead of facial expressions”. That’s kind of sad. What happened to the dinner at the table when everyone asks one another how their day went? What happened to the days in which I used to walk past people who smiled and said ‘hello’ instead of having to dodge them as they almost bump into me while texting?

The good news is the desert is still there, and will be long after we are gone. Every year I take several outings to the desert and Alaska, for that matter, in which I have no cell phone coverage. I must admit that for the first few hours I have an urge to check my phone to make sure ‘everyone is ok’. But then I remember that everyone is going to be ok because I made sure of that before I left. Slowly that chaotic, anxious feeling drains from my brain and I begin to enjoy the sound of the animals, the howling of the wind and smell the various scents of desert vegetation. Its amazing how quickly the body adjusts and ‘tunes in’ to the environment. We should try and do that for a period of time each day, whether you stare at an aquarium, water your plants or just stare at a wall (one of my favorite past times lately). You’ll actually be more productive at home and at work trust me.