Time to Unplug

When I was a kid, the only things plugged in in my bedroom were a lamp and a clock-radio- the same kind of clock-radio I might add, found in the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ -where the numbers flipped over as time passed. I sure wish I still had it today.

And now with my computer on my lap and my iPhone by my side I count

6 lamps

7 recessed lights

1 computer

1 house phone

1 cell phone

1 TV

1 cable box

1 Sonos speaker

1 humidifier

1 adjustable bed (with a light)

1 hairdryer

1 pencil sharpener

I know building codes require outlets every so many feet in our homes- I imagine to avoid tripping over extension cords. I do spend some time worrying about EMG’s and EMF’s – Wi-Fi- Bluetooth- and whatever else might be floating around my head- and I wonder how the world – or my world anyway – became so complicated – so plugged in.

If human- or homo sapiens - as we know them evolved in the past 300,000 years and technology say the past 100 years- where do we go from here? Houses began to be wired in 1910 – with only half of all homes having electric power by 1925. My very own father was born in 1913. I’m not sure we are able to keep up with this surge in technology which seems to have come to take over our lives. The fear of the future and ‘A.I.’ has seemingly replaced our hope for the future- and it is all happening so fast that we can’t seem to keep up.

Yet, in that same bedroom there are three windows that remind me of the world of our origin- the white pine, the oak trees, the four deer that tread so quietly and peacefully trying to make their way through all of the synthetic confines of humankind. I can see the clouds and the rising sun. I hear the wind humming through the trees and when I close my eyes and listen- I know that this is the world that I belong to. How is it that so many of us have become detached from the roots of our being-to who and what we are- part of the earth. I often think that in order to move forward, we need to move backward. We need to unplug.

I can feel the outdoors calling my name day and night- the sun and the stars, the rain and the sunshine, the cold and the warm sultry days. We read about the healing principles of ‘forest bathing’- known in Japan as shinrin yoku. It is a simple method of being amongst the trees, observing nature around you while breathing deeply, which can help both adults and children to de-stress and boost health and wellbeing in a natural way. There is also ‘Grounding’ and ‘Earthing’, walking barefoot on the sand or the grass and letting the earth’s natural energy heal us. We know that our time in the sun helps create our much-needed levels of Vitamin D. Swimming or being in the water (bay, ocean, lake, pool) offers a mind/body experience or meditation that would be difficult to find anywhere else, enhancing our overall well-being. Listening to birds sing is thought to enhance our mental health for up to eight hours.

All of these and many, many more healing opportunities are offered to us freely from the earth- they are restorative, rejuvenating, therapeutic and they are accessible to each of us day and night. I find it so important to detach from all of the things the modern world has us plugged into and to just BE. Sometimes we may forget what a gift the earth is to each of us- and how it offers these healing principles and opportunities to us continuously. We just need to remember that they are right outside our door.