Expecting Hudson
  • BLOG
  • COACHING
  • CONTACT
  • TESTIMONIALS

The Happiest Place On Earth. Disconnect To Reconnect.

11/30/2010

4 Comments

 
Picture

We often associate "connecting" with being happy.  We've become a connected society.  Connecting with friends.  Connecting with family.  Connecting through email.  Connecting through texting and instant messenger.  Connecting through Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and Words With Friends and Flikr and on and on and on.  But do all of those connections really make us feel happier?  How did we make ourselves happy three years ago or five years ago?  

What about disconnecting?  Do we sometimes need to disconnect to reconnect?

I spent last Friday at Disneyland, and for once, I didn't have access to my phone, email, texting, Facebook or any of the means that I usually use to "connect".  Not by choice, mind you.  My phone died shortly after we arrived.  I panicked at first.  How will I upload pictures to Facebook and show everyone what a great time we are having?  How will I email pictures of Hudson to my friends and family as he's experiencing Disneyland?  Damn it; why didn't I think to charge my phone on the drive up?!  

It was a blessing.  I learned how to reconnect by disconnecting.  

I shared my experience with the four people I was there with, not the 359 "friends" on Facebook.  Although there were thousands of people around us, it felt like it was just the five of us.  These four other people had my undivided attention.  One in particular really had my attention.  :)  I think this was seriously the very best day of Hudson's almost 11-month life.  He went berserk over It's A Small World and meeting Goofy.  And I went berserk over watching him go berserk.  

I've never seen so much excitement as I saw in Hudson as we went through Small World.  It occurred to me that we adults rarely allow ourselves to go berserk with excitement.  I wonder why that is?  I know for me, I rarely disconnect and live in that very present moment.  That one moment, not the one that just passed or the one that is about to pass, but that one tiny tiny moment in time.  You blink and it's gone.  On to the next moment.  

There's nothing like spending time with a child to rediscover that child-like playfulness in each of us.  Children don't think about what they're going to do in the future or what happened in the past, they have fun because they enjoy what they're doing. in. the. moment.  Slow down and enjoy the moment.  Don't even think about enjoying it, just do it.  It may take some re-mapping of your brainwaves to unlearn how to be so serious and re-learn how to have fun, but if you enjoy the beauty of that very moment, it won't take long.  

I'm going to go back to implementing Selfish Sundays.  For that one day, I pledge to disconnect.  I pledge to use my phone only when coordinate getting together with someone.  I pledge not to use my phone to email, text, Facebook or Tweet.  What are you willing to do to disconnect in order to reconnect??  



4 Comments
 

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009


    Vote For Use @ Top Mommy Blogs

    Categories

    All
    Acceptance
    Adapt
    Addiction
    Afraid
    Alone
    American Pediatric Association
    Angry
    Animal
    Anxiety
    Apology
    Babies
    Baby
    Baby Steps
    Baby.
    Babysitter
    Bedtime
    Berserk
    Bird
    Birth
    Birthday
    Blogging
    Body
    Bond
    Books.
    Born
    Boss
    Boy
    Breast Feed
    Breast Feeding
    Breastfeeding
    Breasts
    Breathe
    Brine
    Buying
    Caffeine
    Cancer
    Card
    Christmas
    Circumstance
    Circumstances
    Clothes
    Coffee
    Cold
    Compassion
    Confidence
    Congestion
    Consumerism
    Contractions
    Control
    Controversy
    Cranky
    Crappy
    Cry
    Cry It Out
    Crying
    Dad
    Daughter
    Desire
    Development
    Diet
    Disappointment
    Disconnect
    Dishes
    Disneyland
    Dreams
    Eat Pray Love
    Ego
    Einstein
    Emalee
    Embarrassment
    Emotions
    Energy
    Enjoy
    Enjoyment
    Exhausted
    Fear
    Feeling
    Feelings
    Ferberize
    Fever
    Fight
    First
    Flash Cards
    Forgiveness
    Freestyle
    Fresh
    Frustrated
    Future
    Gift
    Giggle
    Giggling.
    Give
    Giving
    Giving Thanks
    Goals
    Gracious
    Gratitude
    Happy
    Hawaii
    Heart Rate
    Helpless
    Hike
    Hiking
    Http://
    Humiliation
    Imagination
    Infant
    Infant Sleep
    Insecure
    Invigorating
    It
    Job
    Joy
    Labor
    Laugh
    Laundry
    Law Of Attraction
    Learning
    Learning Curve
    Length Of Time
    Life Coach
    Love
    Love.
    Make A Child Smile
    Marketing
    Martha Beck
    Milestone
    Milk
    Mind
    Mindfulness
    Mom
    Moment
    Mommy
    Mother
    Motherhood
    Mouth
    Nanny
    Natural
    Needy
    New Mom
    New York Times
    Newborn
    Nurse
    Nursing
    Nystatin.
    One Year Old
    Opportunity
    Pain
    Parent
    Parenting
    Patience
    Patient
    Play
    Power
    Present
    Reconnect
    Relationship
    Relax.
    Research
    Rock
    Room Service
    Roseola
    Running
    Scream
    Self Centered
    Setting Intentions
    Shopping
    Should
    Sick
    Sing
    Single Mom
    Skip Hop
    Sleep
    Sleep Deprivation
    Sleep Lady
    Sleeping Through The Night
    Smile
    Steps
    Stories
    Strength
    Struggle.
    Swim
    Swimming
    Talk
    Technology
    Temper
    Thankful
    Thanks
    Thanksgiving
    Thoughts
    Thrive
    Thrush
    Tired
    Toy Guns
    Toys
    Trader Joe\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
    Uncomfortable
    Unconditional Love
    Universe
    Waking
    Walk.
    Wean
    Well Adjusted
    Wife
    World Health Organization
    Year
    Yeast
    Zombies

    Michelle Mitchell

    Create Your Badge


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.