Besides just enjoying the novelty of the endless smorgasbord that is social media, I was also busy online for 23.765 hours per day (give or take) because I kind of had to be. Someone in our extended family was facing a major health crisis, and it was vital that we be able to stay in contact, moment by moment, with everyone involved. I was working two almost-full-time, part-time jobs from home, (while being a full-time stay-at-home mom) and needed to be "present" at a minute's notice in all of those capacities and places, even when I couldn't physically be present. Science may not have figured out how to allow a person to be two places at once, but technology sure has! (Kinda...)
I can't even tell you how many times a day I thanked God for the online resources that got me through those challenging years. Back then, those programs and social media sites were my life lines. My time savers. My life savers. But I'm not living back then anymore. The pace of my life, thankfully, has slowed considerably. I've gone from needing to be command central or Union Station, to just being a remote outpost in some dusty, backwoods hamlet. I couldn't be more pleased!
Learning how to function in my new role, however, took time, especially in regard to all of those fancy, high-tech communication tools I'd come to love (read: become addicted to). When we first moved here, I kept engaging in my online life as often and as fully as I was accustomed to doing before. But, it wasn't the same. There was no joy in it. It felt empty, and even irritating. Could it be true!? I suddenly was inconvenienced by the very conveniences I had previously loved so much.
Well, shoot! How does one go about figuring out how often one "needs" to check social media, when one truly doesn't need to check it at all, anymore? (Probably a more profound question than meets the eye...) At first I just cut back on my reposting and forwards. That, inevitably, lead to less messaging, commenting, and replies. At this point (much to the chagrin of many technophiles I know) I'm barely even checking email or Facebook at all. That's right - this former addict has practically unplugged. Turns out, the acoustic life is a pretty good one.
Acoustic life. I like that. I've liked it since the first moment it entered my brain (probably because I wasn't using those synapses and cells trying to think of a witty comeback to a post about being middle aged). It's a good way to define what it's like to be less attached to the electronics of this age. And, it is a metaphor that makes sense to me.
In acoustic music, there is nothing artificial to boost the volume or reach of the sounds being created. If you want to be heard by a bigger audience, you have to work a little harder. But, it's worth it. When you're unplugged, your message has so much more fidelity to your audience, and the relationship you create with them is infinitely more authentic and intimate. Being unplugged also gives you freedom to express yourself anywhere, anytime; not just within the confines of outlets, hotspots, or cell towers. But, best of all, is the resonance available to those living the acoustic life. Think about it. Rather than 'noise' being squeezed, amplified, and regurgitated electronically, acoustic sound requires room and time to resonate. Personally, I think we could use a little more of those in modern life: more room, more time, more resonance. Don't you?
But, what do I know? I haven't even read any Tweets about the new Pope, seen any of the newest memes about Justin Bieber, or re-posted a single TGIF funny on Facebook in months. I'm awfully grateful that social media and modern technological opportunities (like blogspot, for example), exist. But, I'm even more grateful that I don't have to rely on them all of the time anymore, and that I've been able to discover the many quiet joys of the acoustic life.
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