Feeling Disconnected?

A lot of us feel disconnected this year.  With all the “social connections” that are closed we have become dependent on the technological ones.  I know I have.

But …I recently spent weeks in a remote little spot that had no internet, no wi-fi and little cell coverage. Almost every call I made dropped in seconds or minutes, and I could not send or receive pictures or attachments.  I could not get any of what I think of as my work, completed.

I felt dis-connected.

Gratefully, a couple of friends took my place in a few areas, and that was a relief.   I was able for the first time in years to choose to sleep until I awakened naturally (no alarms), or to go back to sleep after the first awakening at 2 or 3 am.

But it was challenging not to complete my morning habit of checking connections and writing goals. I also hadn’t realized how much scripture time was poured into the writing work.  I was not only disconnected from my larger world outreach, I felt somewhat disconnected from God.

Spiritually I was able to occasionally slip away and read a devotional book I’d brought and at night the kindle worked, so I could wind down, but as to the emails, the posts, and the communication I was used to, I had to accept that there was nothing I could do to change the situation. So why not complicate it. I mean, take advantage of it (it being my regular life minus electronics).  So I joined a new weight program and spent the time I would have been writing – a new way – walking, checking out keto recipes and foods.  

The best part of the disconnect was that a sister was with me and we had no choice but to focus more on each other, and we walked from 1-4 hours a day so I came home physically stronger and emotionally settled on continuing this health program I’d started.

Once I accepted the limitations of what I could do ABOUT my situation and began to see what I could do WITHIN my limitations I had a new view of what previously took up a lot of my time.

I got a new perspective by looking up the prefix dis and finding this:

The prefix dis– is commonly added to words to give them an opposite or contrasting sense. … Adding the dis– prefix produces the rare word disenthral, a which means release – not from captivation but from captivity; it means ‘set free, liberate’

Dis-connection isn’t all bad, apparently.  The internet I’d thought was my connection that I controlled, apparently had controlled me more than I’d realized.   (I’d also discovered monitoring my eating habits how many times a day I’d snacked out of habit rather than hunger and was able to give away a lot of the snacks I’d brought along)

Have you tried to disconnect from anything? Is there something you need to dis-connect from or a dis-connect you are fighting?

OR has there been something from which you disconnected (released)  that set you free?

Now I am home and do feel freer to plan my day, to make choices for health before work or hobbies and to say to myself, “I don’t do that anymore.”

I’d like to hear how you deal with disconnect. Maybe I’ll be more prepared next time.