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??