Off the grid.....ish.

Spent some camping time as a family over the last three plus days and I can't tell you how refreshing it was to be away from the 'grid' of email, cell phones, Facebook, Instagram, and a host of other things to preoccupy my attention. Okay, actually I can tell you and I will! We went to Greenwood Furnace S.P. where cell service does not exist. Well, it does exists. You just need to hunt until you find it.

The fallacy of the previous sentence is that when one finds themselves out in nature away from distractions, why would you seek them? Here is how my digital dependancy hit the skids on Friday evening of our camping trip. The dependancy to be connected to the 'grid' can be so obtrusive that one can find themselves checking their phone every so often. It is almost an automatic impulse. Friday evening, every time I checked my phone, it said the same thing. "No Service" After about an hour, I began to fidgit and wonder what was going on outside of Greenwood Furnace. Yes, I have been called worse names than the ones you just called me. I am a knucklehead!

The ones I love the most were close to me and I was checking my phone. Thank the Lord for 'dead zones'. It was refreshing to set the phone down and attend to Tracie and Joe. We talked, laughed, and shared life. It was so good. Fast forward to later Friday evening as Tracie and I walked up a gravel road. Near the summit, both our phones beeped and chirped and we almost simultaneously reached for our slavedrivers to see what messages came through (in the one place where cell service exists....ish). We checked our messages, sent some, and within 2-3 minutes had lost the signal. Praise the Lord!

Perhaps, you are much more in control of your dependence on 'gridlife' and if so, great! If you struggle with cell phones and being connected to everything all of the time, utilize a day for going off grid. It can help you appreciate a lot of things and people. You'll be surprised how much freedom can be realized by going 'gridless'. Peace.