Author & poet Anne Lamott says, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Today kicks off National Day of Unplugging. The project was started by a Jewish nonprofit group, Reboot, based in New York & is tethered to the idea of Sabbath rest. The National Day of Unplugging site says that it is a 24-hour respite from technology that starts with sundown on March 6 & ends at sundown on March 7. While the specific time-frame may or may not work for your schedule, have you found this idea to be helpful in your own life? When is the last time you put your phone and computer away and enjoyed the wonders around you? What was the result of this time?
Maybe we can all commit to a few minutes a day or an hour or more a week to unplug from our devices & plug into what really matters: listening to another’s story, gazing at the stars, sharing a meal with someone we love, nurturing our health and more. Maybe the time we give to ourselves and to others will help us spring forward into something new & wonderful. Maybe we will discover meaning, intimacy, clarity, confidence, and just the rest that we all need.
Worth looking at on the Web:
- Here’s the full TED talk Anne Lamott gave that included the above quote. Listen to this inspiring take on creativity, and take a moment to ask someone you love about what it is that they know to be true.
- The Wall Street Journal shared this article just this week about the growing importance of capturing the stories of our lives for future generations.
- As part of a monthly resolution challenge to learn more about her family, journalist and writer Kelsey Hurwitz took cues from genealogy experts and discovered a stronger sense of connection and self. Read the article here.
- A recent New York Times piece explores how we might learn more about our loved ones from the stuff they leave behind after they are gone.
- Lessons in listening from author, Kate Murphy. Ms. Murphy is the author of “You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters” — an excellent book that we’ll be discussing more in coming weeks on our Facebook page.
Send us a note at sacredstoriesfilms@gmail.com when you find news-worthy, inspiring, or meaningful human interest stories or articles about the art of listening or the work of personal historians & genealogists.