Recently, I lost my Internet connection, and it stayed down for almost two weeks.
I know, right?
You're wondering how I survived, why I didn't curl up in a ball and die.
Seriously. That's what I would have expected, too. Oh, I've been without it before, for even longer periods — twice, I couldn't go online for 5 weeks or so. But those times it was because my computer, then my monitor, each went kerblooey! (a quick and painless death, at least), and I didn't have the money to replace them right away.
The main difference is, back then I Just. Went. Nuts. It was beyond hard to deal with, and not just because of the length of time. I started jonesin' for an Internet fix by the second day.
But this time, not at all. It was strange, really. Instead of being stressed and lonely (OMG, no one to talk to at 3 a.m.!) and lost, I felt relaxed and peaceful and creative.
I wrote.
I read.
I kept the TV turned off and it was quiet.
I reconnected with a cool novella I'd started writing a year ago and had given up on because it was, well, too damn hard. Now it just seems too damn cool. Or, rather, just the perfect amount of cool.
Anyway, I wouldn't want to lose my Internet connection on a regular basis. I like to be in charge of me. And it would definitely get to me sooner or later, in a major way. But I did learn a lesson. Sometimes it's good to unplug. The creative mind needs less chaos and more tranquility. Not every minute of every day (God, no). But now and then. Ya know, recharge the ol' mental and emotional batteries. Cut out the cacophony of background voices and visual assault of flashing images (Do those bright, constantly moving web ads ever stop? Hell no.). Free the mind like an unleashed puppy romping in a meadow.
And then, after a while, immerse oneself in the cyberworld again, of course. Wouldn't want to risk going totally bat-sh*t crazy, right? ;-}
Copyright ©2015 Nik Barnabee. All Rights Reserved.
Image by Kirk Lau, at Flickr Commons. Title: internet down :(
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