11 Jun A voice in the void

It feels like my voice is speaking into the void. I can still hear myself, but does my wife hear what I am telling her? In the middle of a sentence, the connection has dropped. Internet here in the temple, in the middle of a nature reserve in France, is an uncertain affair. Occasionally, I can send messages or check the news in the world, but there is no guarantee. It all depends on the direction of the wind or whatever other reason may be lurking behind it.

Anchored in us
In the beginning, it feels frustrating because the internet is anchored in us: just looking something up, sharing something for a moment, watching some nonsense for a bit. So it also requires withdrawal when it is no longer there.

But after a few days, I begin to appreciate it: I exhale. If you want to detach from all those addictive apps on your phone while still having access to the internet, that’s not so simple.

You have two options:

1. Delete the addictive apps from your phone, say goodbye to Facebook and Instagram, or make access to these apps more difficult in the settings.
2. Do something else at the moments when you normally reach for your phone to look at nonsense. Because even a holy intention to scroll less doesn’t work, we know that by now. The algorithm keeps you hooked.

Do something else
The good advice is: consciously go do something else at those moments. This way, I am improving my English with an app that I paid €80 for, which is very good and fun, and… also works addictively but now in a positive direction. After all, I chose it myself.

Another app that I also use supports me with fitness exercises.

But up here on the mountain with such minimal range, none of that works anymore and my system goes into default mode, to use a significant word for a prolonged breather.

Meeting with yourself
Yesterday I took a long walk on my own and experienced the merits of this network. It’s as if you are looking at the underlying landscape from a mountain, which I actually did, but at the same time I saw the landscape of my current life passing by, and that is super valuable, also for being able to steer it in a good direction.

If you have the opportunity during your vacation, take some time for a walk by yourself and also create a meeting with yourself!

*This post has been automatically translated from Dutch