a simple life...

‘What’s that noise,’ I think to myself as I enter my room.  I can hear the hum of the heater but where is that rustling coming from I wonder?  That’s when I notice my book laying in the corner of my bed.  Its pages are taking in the flow of the air from the heater as if it was a hairdryer styling the story that I’ve been wrapped up in.  For a brief moment I see a snippet of the story flash before my eyes and I can’t resist picking up the hardback and finding my place within. 

In truth there have been so many stories lately that I could easily confuse myself about what I’m reading.  Yet the stories are so good they always distinguish themselves.  As I glance at the table next to my bed, I realize that I have five different books stacked up.  The bookshelf behind me is easily getting filled, and it includes the four that I’m probably not even close to starting.  Most are books about a place far away, where the people are dealing with life in a slightly different way than I am.  There is fiction and nonfiction; but no travel guides.  The travel that I’m doing happens every night without me moving an inch!    

With my insatiable thirst for words I find myself thinking about reading while writing about what to give a reader and finally reading about writing for reading!!

And all of it is thanks to this:

 
No television.  No newspapers.  No landline telephone.  And here is the clincher…No internet! 

For the last two months I have been living on board the new yacht that I am working and essentially disconnected from the outside world.  I am not out at sea but my connection capacity is limited.  So when I first moved on I visited my local cell phone dealer and inquired about getting internet for my laptop.  At the time, I was adamant that this was a must for me.  I absolutely needed to be connected.  Internet is at the center of so much of my life; my entertainment, my bills, my ability to communicate with people around the world…everything!!

That was two months ago!  In the meantime, I suffered an infected computer and I returned all of the internet equipment.  I was never connected online and in the time it took to get my computer repaired I realized something.   

When was the last time I checked my Facebook account?  My email must be just about full by now.  I wonder if anyone has missed me on MySpace?  Strangely enough…I miss my friends overseas, but I don’t miss being constantly accessible to them.  I love that my friends and I now have real conversations over the phone, rather than just leaving comments on each other’s page.  Some friends are still only internet friends and that’s fine.  But my life no longer centers itself within that 15 inch screen and the funny noises coming from Instant Messenger.

I found a peace and quiet that I never knew I missed.  I am doing things that I am finding to be more productive and inspiring.  And I am writing and thinking about writing in a much different way.

And so the news to know is this:  I am not dissolving this blog.  However, I will not be posting as often as before.  I do want to be able to share some stories of my upcoming voyage to Alaska.  I will share and post as often as I can.  But I have to be honest and tell you that this blog has limited my writing as much as it has inspired it.  I was experiencing things for the sake of sharing with you.  I was writing to keep you interested in my journeys and I was giving too much power over to how many of you were reading this.

I am enjoying the simpler life; the one where I don’t have to post anything to feel like I am staying in touch with friends, the one where I write because I want to see it in print someday and not just on a computer screen, and the one where I am surrounded by the books that I am reading.

So will you do me a favor?  Try turning off the computer for an entire weekend at least.  Spend your day without the internet and pick up a book.  I have a lot that I would be happy to recommend to you!! 

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