– Pablo Picasso
There are mornings when I wake up and refuse to turn on my MacBook, sometimes I'll even shut off my Blackberry for a couple hours. I’ll just sit or lay down somewhere in my house, knowing full well I cannot be distracted in this moment. I listen to a song that inspires me (or as Stephanie Koch would call them: "Helicopter Songs") and just reflect on life, try to realize my dreams coming true, or pretend I am somewhere else by losing myself in a good novel. Some nights I’ll sit down and write my most passionate thoughts for hours on end. Nothing but the quiet stillness of the night and the gentle tapping of the keyboard. Minutes passing by with the blink of an eye and hours seeming like minutes.
And it’s beautiful.
The days when I want to take in that same tranquility but not stay indoors, I’ll take my longboard across town to run some errands. The exhilaration I get from the cool wind breeze in my face as I burn down rural hills and city side streets gives me is beyond liberating, it gives me a natural high. Reminiscent of times I've been on ecstasy, except with no down side. What could be more perfect. I enjoy the moment as I bask in my connection with life and my disconnection from technology.
These are the moments when disconnection shows its glorious face, when life is in full force, when we are fully connected to the world immediately around us, while disconnected from the world at large. These moments have become increasingly rare because of our connectedness with technology, thus why I pursue these moments and disconnect as often as I want. I'm not saying we should abandon technology. It’s not the technology we should be afraid of. It’s a life where we’re always connected, always interrupted, always distracted, and continuously bombarded with information and requests. It’s a life where we have no time to create, or connect with real people. Disconnection is the solution, or at least an integral part of it. It’s very difficult for many people, because connection is addictive. But what's difficult is always worth it. Nothing comes by easy, especially if it is to benefit your lifestyle and mental/physical health.
This week, I challenge you to remove certain distractions from your life. Be honest with yourself and think about what vices you have in your life right now that are eating hours away from your personal life. Whether it be time spent on your cell phone, sitting around playing video games, or the hours per week you spend perving on Facebook. Trust me, you won't miss much. One week removed, based on your honesty and willpower you will notice a significant change in your life. Things you "Liked" before will start to lose it's value and soon you will come to realize that none of that stuff before actually mattered. Most importantly, you will gain a greater awareness of what you actually want in life, day by day becoming closer to the true being in you. You can only begin to understand your purpose when you eliminate these kind of distractions. Disconnect from your current reality and take the blindfold off your eyes before it's too late. The thing is not many people actually get to live, most just exist. That's it. People have it made up in their minds that happiness is a pursuit or a direction and they will focus on it when the moment presents itself. The truth is that this fictional, fairy tale moment never comes. Happiness is waiting for you right now beneath your feet. The only question you should ask yourself:
Will you lower yourself as much to find it there?
Haha dude, I really don't know how you have duped all these people into thinking you are some sort of modern day prophet...but fuck man, reading your stuff is like reading a book of cliches...you take generic ideas and try to pass them off as some ingenious original idea...If you had more than 2 brain cells in your head I'd be shocked.
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