Turn Off, Slow Down

During my daily review of RSS feeds I found this article on Religion Dispatches. As one who utilizes technology I found this article an interesting challenge, but I have a meeting on Friday and Saturday that requires technology.

Turn Off, Slow Down, Drop In: The Digital Generation Reinvents the Sabbath
by Elizabeth Drescher | Feb. 24, 2011 | Religion Dispatches

My face-to-face connection to Sarah and Adam Walker Cleaveland is thin. Nonetheless, Sarah and I were “friends” on Facebook, which, in turn, linked me to Adam’s robust social media presence. So I was privy to the deep joy that surrounded the couple last fall as they celebrated the halfway mark of Sarah’s pregnancy with twin boys. I also learned almost immediately, it seemed, when the pregnancy came to a wrenching, premature end on October 25, 2010, and the couple lost their 19-week-old sons, Micah and Judah.

Adam and Sarah have been on my mind a great deal this week as I reflect on a very different social media experience: next weekend’s National Day of Unplugging, from sunset on March 4 to sunset on March 5—a day when “people across the nation will reclaim time, slow down their lives and reconnect with friends, family, the community, and themselves.” Reboot, the nonprofit sponsoring the event as part of their Sabbath Manifesto project, includes “Ten Principles” to guide participation: 1) Avoid technology; 2) Connect with loved ones; 3) Nurture your health; 4) Get outside; 5) Avoid commerce; 6) Light candles; 7) Drink wine; 8) Eat bread; 9) Find silence; 10) Give back. But, according the group’s website, the key principle of focus for the day is theavoidance of technology.