I've got a new best friend. We hang out all the time. Over breakfast, checking in throughout the day, whilst cooking dinner, we chill on the sofa once the boys are in bed and then, if I can't sleep, we sit together, sometimes for hours.
It's getting a little obsessive and truth is, a little one-sided. In fact, I'm thinking the time has come to create some boundaries with my friend. I wonder how his little, fake leather clad self is going to take it?
Yes, it's feeling at times that my relationship with my i-pad is out of control. At the heart of it is a longing for connection and the numbing out to what feels like constant demands, sometimes at the expense of my family. Yet a self-perpetuating cycle is at work here. Being constantly open to and bombarded by messages and information creates stress and energy leaks which on some level is soothed by the 'zone out' and disconnect of cyber space which then creates more stress and energy leaks.
So I am experimenting with time frames for cyber-communing and more real connecting with beloveds. Three check-ins per day for a maximum of fifteen minutes including facebook gives me more time to play with my kids, read books, do yoga and meditate, journal, talk on the phone with friends, socialise, have baths and footrubs with my husband... the list goes on. Wanna try it too? So far I'm discovering that it takes real discipline to not check the i-pad every 20 minutes ( you know, just in case it's something really important - as if living my life joyfully in the real world isn't! ).
Our modern world is feeling like a new frontier. Many are exhausted, frazzled and anxious. We have no history of cyber world to help us navigate it. Our personal boundaries and practices are our map to health, peace and what is real for us. Saying 'no', limiting cyber usage, practicing true connection and presence with loved ones and our mindfulness practices like yoga, meditation and prayer are becoming as necessary for health as veges and toothbrushing. We have the choice as pioneers of this age to take care of our whole selves.
My 6 year old boy will often say to me as an affirmative, "True Mum. Real life." I think he's onto it.
Love and True, Real Life Connections
Angela x