C.C. and I unplugged yesterday. It was a beautiful day. C.C. golfed in the morning. I completed the first draft of a report I’m writing for a not-for-profit. I moved my laptop to the desk in our bedroom and typed while outside my window, birds twittered around the bird-feeder and the sound of water in the fountain played beautiful music in my ears. When C.C.  got home, we headed off to the Sun and Salsa Fest for a divine afternoon of people watching that ended at The River Cafe on Prince’s Island. Sublime.

Driving to the north side of the city where the Salsa Fest is held, we listened to an interview on CBC Radio. The man being interviewed was talking about  ‘what makes a difference in the world’. “Noticing the world around us.” “Observing what’s happening,” he said and then he ended with, “turning off electronics.”

He talked about families driving the Banff Jasper Highway, travelling through some of the most stunningly beautiful country in the world and not seeing a thing. Children with eyes glued to video screens and electronic games. Everyone encased in their own electronic bubble of personal gadgetry that is separating them from seeing the world around them.

As C.C. and I walked along the river, we passed a father and son out for a Sunday walk together. Except. The father was on his cellphone. The son clutched a video game in two hands and was systematically destroying the world — okay, maybe he was killing off bad guys and creating peace, I’m not sure. But his head was down, his thumbs were flying and he was making grunting sounds as he blew things up.

Of the many people we passed, several were on cellphones, even if they were walking with someone. About the only people we were guaranteed didn’t have an electronic device pasted against their ear were the rafters floating down the river — though with the waters so high the current is fast and ‘floating’ is a bit of a misnomer.

We have a policy in our home that there are no electronic devices at the dinner table. Both my daughters are cellphone polixei. Any sign of texting during a meal and they will ‘out’ the offender in a flash. Walking with Ellie, my wonder pooch, and either of my daughters also requires walking without electronic devices — though they do allow my iPhone for picture-taking!

And I am grateful. For in the disconnecting from the virtual world, we connect in the here and now. Conversation happens, sharing takes place and we ‘see’ into the hearts of eachother, we hear what is on the other’s mind and create opportunities for connection far beyond what is possible in the one-dimensional space of the lit-up screen of a personal device.

Dont’ get me wrong — I really, really like my iPad and my iPhone. What I don’t like is my perceived need to always be connected. To always have it with me which is why, other than for work purposes, I commit to unplugging myself from Twitter, FB and texts today for a minimum of ………………..stretches.

See, that’s what’s so interesting. Trying to figure out what is an acceptable/doable period of time to not check my online status is not easy. Is it acceptable to check every 15 minutes, half hour, one hour, 3 hours…  What is acceptable without the checking becoming a ‘problem’? What is the fine line between, useful tool and an addictive need to be online?

Now, I am known for not remembering to take my cellphone. For not checking messages. For not answering the phone. What is disturbing isn’t that I forget to do it, it is that when I have the device with me, I feel compelled to check it. A lot.

I’m sure if I can figure out what is healthy in being part of the virtual world, it will make a difference. I’m sure if I can find a balance in how and when I check my online connections, I will be more at ease in the real world around me.

In the meantime, I shall consciously watch my online status, noting how and when I check so that I can determine what is healthy, or unhealthy in my plugged in connections. And in the interim, I gift myself 3 hour stretches of no checking. Other than at the office where being online is part of the drill that is! Though, even there, I am more productive when I measure my email responses as opposed to responding as if everything is a crisis.

Hmmm… what makes a difference in your plugged in versus unplugged world? How do you measure your virtual versus real world connections? What is the secret of plugging healthily into the virtual world?