Taking Time To Disconnect, To Reconnect

Last weekend I spent some much-needed time away in the Catalonian mountains. I knew that I wanted this to be a laptop and social media free excursion. Why?  More and more I feel distracted and overwhelmed by the amount of information at my fingertips online. It's both a good and bad thing to be so connected at pretty much all times.For certainly the past 2-3 years, every day has been spent at a laptop or with phone in hand connected to social media. There is so much instant 'connection' available yet I can feel so utterly disconnected from others and from my truth. I felt really called to just pull away from things and try to escape to a quieter place. I’ve been yearning for more simplicity, honesty and real-life communication for a long time.Everywhere I look there are people on their phones (I’m included in this). You see friends, couples and families having dinner and people are online, not even looking at each other. It’s become so normalised that it doesn’t even feel rude to be mid conversation and check your latest WhatsApp message. What I wonder is what does our future look like? Will people even remember they can write with pens? We will still feel comfortable with long face to face conversations with good friends, will we be able to enjoy an event without feeling the need to document each moment and share it? I ask these questions to both myself and you.My social media addictions feel ugly, embarrassing and powerful. After a heavy scroll I often feel depleted and think, ‘what else could I have done that would have been productive with this time’. I’ve also had to question myself on my intentions when I post. The other day I looked at my Instagram account and noted pretty much every recent picture was of me. When I write I'm always trying to be as honest as possible and show all my sides, yet on the surface it just looked like image after image of yours truly. Is this me being narcissistic, am I craving a few more likes and validation with what I share? I’m not judging others on their choice of posts, but I have to question and do what feels right for me.So how did I feel during this delightful weekend away? Well, in my constant eye line was a magnificent snow-capped mountain (see the image above). If you’ve ever needed to feel taken down a peg or two, then stand by a mountain and look at all her proud, grand beauty. Suddenly little old me didn’t feel so big or important. So much of my social media habit is idle scrolling, for me it doesn’t feel healthy. So they only way for me to have a break is to remove the apps from my phone. I’d go to check it then realise not only I couldn't but deep down I didn't want to. This moment allowed me to stop and think ‘Alice, what are you doing and why?’. Are you checking because you want to look at something or because you want to avoid something? For me it often falls into the latter. By removing the distractions I create more space for myself. I spent a lot of time writing, meditating, practicing yoga and listening to podcasts. All of these things make me feel good. They provide an opportunity for me to tune in and notice a lot of the noise that I create around myself. All of these activities fit into what I would call ‘self-care’. As I get older I’ve had to learn that relaxing is not a bad thing, that taking a break and doing nothing is actually GOOD for me and self-care is a vital element of that.I'm not going to pretend a weekend away from social media is enough to cure a habit. BUT it has helped to put a little wedge of space between the autopilot need to go and check it. Of course I'm not saying all social media is bad, that would be hypocritical of me. I just think we need to be aware of our actions and how they make us feel, with this and with everything in life. There is so much beauty in the present moment and in real life connections. Social media will never be able to replace the beauty of a deep, heartfelt conversation face to face with someone I love.Last weekend has inspired me to share the practices which bring me back to a feeling of connection and clarity. I'll be offering a series of workshops in Barcelona around 'reconnection'. The first will be on the 8th of October. For more details head here.With love,Alice