Turning it Off

Today I read a really interesting article in the New York Times on the effect of technology on our brains. The article talks about how we are always surrounded by electronics all the time. It gives the example of a lady at her fitness club on the elliptical. She is shooting out quick emails and texts, surfing the channels on the TV attached to the elliptical, and is listening to music on her iPod. She says that all these different things help to distract her from the workout and boredom.

I must admit, my first reaction was, “Wow, that’s way to much to be doing,” then I though about it. Just last night I went for a run at our gym on a treadmill and did the EXACT same thing. I was on my smart phone sending emails and texting, I was flipping through songs on my IPod and also watching tv, all while running three miles.

The question that the article brings up is when do we let our brains rest? If when we are working out we have this much going on, what do out lives look like the rest of the time? Most of us, including me, sit in front of a computer all day. Right now as I sit here, I am typing on my laptop, my desktop is sitting next to me, my smart phone lays on the desk while I text with my husband and friends, I have music playing and am also writing. At home it does not get much better. While I might not be in front of a computer as much, there is rarely a night that goes by that I don’t pull out my computer and do something. My phone is always in my pocket and whenever I get a email or text there is just something that makes me pull it out and see what is interrupting my evening. After coming back from my run last night my phone's battery died and I admit to feeling a relief. I chose not to plug it in because with it dead, work could not barge into my home life; Facebook could not interrupt quality time with my husband. I knew that if someone really needed to talk to me, they could call Phil, so I left it on the table dead, unable to reach me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti technology, in fact I love technology. However, I have realized the need for boundaries.                                 The need for space.                              The time for rest.

In all my “connectedness” it is easy to be “disconnected” from what really matters in life. Instead of spending my run “resting” by brain, I fill it up with more useless information about what famous actors are doing, or shows that I could really careless about. Even my quiet time spent reading my Bible and journaling get barged into by technology. This little black thing in my pocket has the ability to take me away from whatever I am doing and bring all my focus and attention to a email that could have waited until the next day.

So here is the deal. I am not going to give up my smart phone, my computer or even my iPod. They are not the problem. However I am going to start to figure out how to balance technology with my need to rest, to spend time plugging into God’s word instead of a new status on Facebook, to rest while at home and spend much needed time with Phil without being drawn back into the work world by reading emails when I don’t need to. To use my time running wisely so that I am able to recharge and focus on what really matters in life.

If you have time, I would highly encourage you to read this article; I found it really challenging and interesting! www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?_r=3

Happy Last day of August! (by the way... HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!?)