If you've followed my posts for a while, you know that I'm always trying to get away from the internet so to speak. I did meet my husband online, so thanks world wide web!, but otherwise what was my quiet, sacred painting life pre-2013, morphed into an array of screens, text messages, and endless emails. (2013 is the year I got a smart phone). The internet also opened up work opportunities for me, so I am grateful for that, but my body would say differently. It would remark- "whaddaya doing here? I was having fun and you made it all stressy."
Even when I was young I had a similar impulse about the net. I recall my mom getting AOL for us when I was about 10 years old. I was enamored by the Nikelodeon chatroom. a/s/l? I met cyber bullies and super sexual beings that pretended to be all kinds of ages and genders. It was the wild west and I quickly found that it was a little too wild for me. My intuition set off an alarm. My sister got into building web pages, but I went back to wandering around outside on my bike.
I had adventures though, and I found inspiration outside. I have good memories from this time. I watched people, took notes, found hidden trails, made picnics, did painting projects, and sang songs to myself. I enjoyed my chidhood, and I guess we're all here, trying to live a life we enjoy. So I look back to that time and what I used to do, as a roadmap for getting from technical chaos to inner peace.
This new year, I am going to do that thing that lots of minimalist people do, so it's not special. I'm quitting social media. I will still send out newletters and write blog posts, two things I used to do more of and really enjoyed, but stopped when social media seems to be more "efficient".
I'm also establishing my scared painting practice, and a sacred writing practice, which means to me that I must be quiet and not aim to produce anything in principle. I am wokring on some new books, and hopefully they will see the light of day, but they deserve to be cooked in my creative writing womb for a while, methinks?
This impulsive but necesary move was inspired by a few things- Cal Newport's book, Digital Minimalism, which I read severals months ago but at that time I didn't have the guts to step away from tech enough to be with myself. I was also inspired by Flow, by Csikszentmihalyi, which I read several years ago almost entirely at the gym. Both of these books talk about the importance of undistracted, concentrated time, where we can find our depths of creativity and delight. I've had a hard time finding this as podcasts are so easy to pop on while I work, text messages flood in, and emails never stop. My bad habits are too easy to foster, hence my attempt to break their spell once more.
Lastly, I was influenced by a women's circle, which creates a sacred space for everyone involved. I've found this to be an exptrememly healing presence in my life, and I can't help but want more of this undistracted, sacred time.
But, what is sacred? A friend told me that nothing is sacred anymore, but I don't beleive that. I think the sacred is created upon will, and it is a place of full presence with yourself and the divine. It's accessible to everyone. I would like to see more "sacred spaces" rather than "safe spaces". I don't think sacred has to be pretty, or religious, or even fun. But it can be sexy, delicious, midevil, and liberating. I'm aiming to transition into sacred time with my screens and learn how to love them in a new way. But first...
...Back to basics.
