1 Nov 2014

Hestia and....The Digital Sabbath

It's amazing what turns up
when you google 'jesus and a laptop'
I know, it seems like my ancient religions are getting mixed up.  What's the Greek goddess of the hearth doing thinking about any kind of Sabbath? Surely it should be carefree debauchery all the way for me - sex, satyrs and sacrifices?



It's been a long time since anyone in the UK really thought of a Sunday as a Day of Rest.  Everything from corner shops to supermarkets are open and trading on Sundays now.

And while that's marvellous for the busy consumer, maybe we've lost something of ourselves that has nothing to do with the observation of a religious Day of Rest.

Maybe we humans really SHOULD be spending one day out of seven doing absolutely nothing - just allowing ourselves some space to relax or get in touch with our real feelings about the stuff that is happening in our lives.

Speaking for myself, I spend a lot of time wired to the national grid: I listen to the radio, I watch TV, I indulge in the Book of The Face, I spend inordinate amounts of time checking e-mails, tweets, messages ....... and it all serves to ramp me up into a near perpetual state of wired alertness.

So much so that if I do manage to get away for a few days break with Tartarus and Sonshine, I inevitably end up taking some sort of laptop or ipad with me....just in case....and if the WIFI IS NOT WORKING?! Well, when that happened when we were down in Stoke earlier this year, I was reduced to sitting outside the campsite office on the grass, balancing my laptop on my knees.  Come on! Who am I fooling?! Am I SO addicted to the minute by minute development of conversations about international crises on facebook?

Sadly - yes.

The thought of being unplugged for more than a day or two leaves me feeling jittery and anxious.  Smack-heads are positively Zen-like in their calm next to me.

That's not right, is it? Even I can see that.

So now I am planning to adopt a Digital Sabbath.  Just for a month, to see how I get on.

One day a week, I'll be switching off the computer.  Leaving the ipad unplugged.  Leaving my lap blissfully laptop free and turning my attention to other things in my life:

My family, my friends, my luffly big dog....... my garden, books, my water colour paints..... see, it could be quite exciting!

Plus, no international crisis is likely to need me to pontificate about it on a Sunday......

What about you? Are you up for the Digital Sabbath challenge?


13 comments:

  1. We will miss you, but it's actually easier than you think, The trick is to not have access rather than trying to resist the temptation. Pull the plug, or you'll be sneaking on when you aren't looking :)

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    Replies
    1. That's what tends to happen. And why I can't be doing it during the week. When I have to log on to do things for clients, I end up faffing around where I ought not once the work is done lol!

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  2. what day are you thinking of doing it ?

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    Replies
    1. Saturdays or Sundays - one of the two. Will ya miss me? :-D

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  3. An excellent reminder to renew my commitment to a real Sabbath break. I prefer the Saturday version, so I'll have to work that out. Right now, all bets are off for everything as the frantic activity of selling and moving house goes into high gear.

    I look forward to not hearing from you tomorrow, as then I will know that you are doing watercolors and playing with the dog (I wouldn't let the dog do the watercolors for you, though...interesting but rather messy, I should think. :)

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    Replies
    1. I think that it's a good thing to take a regular break - recharge and reconnect. Moving house?! Stressful!!! You'll need to share deets of the new house - I demand pictures :-D

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  4. This is an excellent idea. I am doing a challenge where I have to post one post to my blog everyday so I will join in as well with one caveat being that I will do up my blog post first and only that and then switch everything else off on that day.

    Thanks for this!

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    Replies
    1. Ash - why not write your blog post a couple of days earlier and schedule it to post on your Digital Sabbath? I can recommend scheduling :-D

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  5. excellent. once i'm back from my hiking trip to vegas, i think i may join you. are phones included?

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    Replies
    1. Could you go a day without your mobile phone? Is it your only phone (or do you have a land-line too - I have lol!) I would say....yes to phone being used as phone....but not for internet searches :-D

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