January 16^th: Space

It’s no revelation that the world we live in today is a busy one- nothing languid or placid about it, really. We are pummeled with information from all sides, technology having given us the ability to watch events as they unfold, in real time, anywhere in the world. We are electronically connected at all times, to everyone we know, and plenty of people we don’t. We carry our phones with us and panic on the rare occasion that they are lost or left at home or down to 3% battery. Scrolling became a compulsion for me, one app after another, hours and hours every day.

For quite some time now, the urge to stop all this craziness, to slow down, to do things differently, has been growing in me. I believe that might be a huge part of why I hunger to make this move to Maine so much, honestly. The idea of LESS. I understand that there is just as much internet in Maine as anywhere else, but it just feels like…I don’t know, a return to life as it was, I guess. The kind of life my nine-year-old knows nothing about, where people sat and played board games together, not on family game night but just…whenever. When families set the table and ate together every single night.

Anyway, I understand there are flaws in that thought process. That I don’t need to move across the country to change my life. Obviously, there are other reasons for wanting to go. But that’s a part of it. At the start of this year, I began to do things differently. Staying off of social media completely hasn’t worked for me, so I just cut way, way back. I stopped following the news closely. I stopped engaging with things that I didn’t want to spend my time and energy on.

In short, I created some space for myself to breathe. And because space cannot stay empty for long, I filled it with things that made me feel better instead of worse. Books and writing and walks on the beach. Daydreams and plans and time with friends. Filling myself with these things has worked much the same way that filling yourself with fruits and salads rather than cheesecake and pizza does. I just feel better. Cheesecake and pizza are great once in a while, but when all you eat is garbage, eventually you’re gonna feel like shit. Filling your time and brain with garbage? Same thing.

If you are feeling beat up or overwhelmed by the barrage of information coming in, remember that it’s not your job to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. There are so many things we can do nothing about and being uninformed is not the worst thing in the world. Creating a space for yourself that is sane, safe, peaceful and protected is a pretty bad-ass thing to do, honestly. I’m so happy to be doing it. Maybe you will be, too. If you need a break, I say take one. See you Saturday!