Avoiding the Internet: It's GOOD for You!

Yesterday, I mostly avoided the Internet.

Other than a quick scan of my email, I avoided social media, I avoided news tickers, I avoided Covid anxiety, I avoided the stock market, I avoided the world of cryptocurrency.

In the interest of full disclosure I had a lot of stuff to do in the outside world, and it was a sunny day (after a couple of weeks of non-stop RAIN, it seems...) so I finally had a chance to start on the yardwork that had been piling up.

Mental Health Day

Being away from the whole circus made me pause to consider just how much we tend to get wrapped up in the 24/7 "Circus of Worry" that comes with a medium that seems to thrive on creating things to be fearful of.

As I took a break and just sat in one of the chairs in our vegetable garden, I couldn't help but think of the way it almost feels like some of our friends are addicted to being afraid of something.

And if they finally get to a place where they are NOT worrying, they get anxious about that and head off in search of something NEW to be worried about!

I can't even imagine...

Makes me want to ask "Do you feel like you're not ALIVE, if you're not in fear?"

A Long Time Ago...

Many years back — when I was still living in Texas — I remember thinking something similar about one of my neighbors.

The part of Texas where we lived was a good place to look for fossils, and she was an avid enthusiast. HOWEVER, Penny spent more time worrying about whether there would be a scorpion, a snake, a poisonous spider, fire ants or some other vermin under the next rock... than whether she'd find something cool for her collection.

Although she allegedly loved fossil hunting, the times I went with her were more anxiety ridden than enjoyable.

And if she wasn't worrying about getting stung/bitten by bugs, she was worried the land owner would have forgotten she'd been permitted to explore their land... and would suddenly show up with a gun and shoot us.

My purpose in sharing this story is that Penny actually ended up in the hospital a couple of times, dealing with elevated blood pressure, ulcers and stress.

What We Can Change... and What We Can't

The thing about getting all wound up about the Fear Circus of Covid, the economy, riots, school shootings and whatever else... is that we are putting ourselves under emotional (and physical — don't ignore the mind/body connection!) stress over things and events we have little control over.

All we can really control is what we do with our own lives, at home.

By going in my yard and working outside, I'm NOT going to get caught up in the circus, NOR will I be affected by it. However, I WILL give myself a chance to un-tense from the effects of the next worrisome story.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I am IGNORING these things, nor am I lacking COMPASSION for those caught up in the real frays. But I am choosing to direct my energy somewhere where it actually makes a difference, and amounts to something more than just sitting and spinning in place like a crazy top!

It might do you good to do the same!

Thanks for reading!

What do YOU think? What was the last time YOU stepped away from the online world? How do you feel about not accessing ANY of your devices for 24 hours? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20200623 09:23 PDT
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