Thinkings: The greatness of techno-disconnectivity

Thinkings: The greatness of techno-disconnectivity

"We know you have little patience for delays or system failures when you’re trying to be productive, but those of us who have walked a few more miles know that sometimes God works in ways we don’t predict. The faltering Internet connection on your laptop at the airport can be a life-altering gift to the grief-stricken woman sitting next to you when suddenly you are inspired to share your life in Christ. That hard drive crash can be two days you spend cleaning up your mother’s garden, reconnecting with the smell and feel of the earth, earning the praise from your mother (that never gets old) and the irreplaceable feeling of getting a job done. Patience remains a virtue, still." 
- Jacqueline Ritacco, 'How to be a better twenty-something', Relevant magazine

On, delicious non-internet bound time, when wandering thoughts and feet enter the realm of the sublime! How I long for the Sabbath day, spent in the presence of Yahweh, the inner sanctum where whence we meet completely disconnected from anything remotely technological, when the words on the page, the fleeting thoughts, the sight of a small bird taking flight and a delicately unfolding flower come to life, delighting each and every sense they touch until you are fully enveloped in the majesty of it all. And, oh, for moments spent in the company of friends, during which time 'getting away' is unhindered by the sounding of a phone or the desperation to 'check' the email, the messages, the too-crowded, I-can't-breathe schedule. Snatches of time just between you and the ones you love most... is there anything more truly delicious?!

On that note, GWAS is working on some big assignments over the next two to three weeks, as well as undergoing some big life changes of the domestic kind. The pace here may be even slower than usual – if that is at all possible (we play the tortoise, not the hare, around here)! Otherwise, I will be sharing glimpses of things I am thinking over, such as this 'Thinking' right here, and articles conjured up by friends with the writerly proclivity. 

See also: 
Nancy Sleeth on 'Do you need a technology fast?' at Qideas
Emma Plant on 'Problematic Internet Use' at GWAS

Girl With a Satchel

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