Let me start by saying my first attempt at a digital sabbath wasn’t 100% tech free. I didn’t prepare by thinking ahead about all the things I use my laptop for, like the folder of recipes stored there that I needed to cook the chili I’d planned to make. I didn’t think about who would be expecting me to answer texts, like my husband with questions from the grocery store. Or my daughter and I coordinating which Mass we were going to.
But it went well overall. I did manage to leave my phone in another room for most of the day, stayed off of social media and games, didn’t check email, and didn’t turn on the TV.
And I did not miss a single thing. When I logged onto Facebook this morning, I saw a slew of Happy Father’s Day posts like the ones I’ve seen every year for the past fifteen years. I opened my email to 142 new messages, 141 of which were junk. And it turns out nothing terrible happened when my Wordle streak was broken.
I didn’t lose anything but enjoyed a sense of calm instead. I stood on the front porch with my seven-month-old grandson and watched him watch the rain and smack the green lilac leaves with his chunky dimpled hands. Not that I haven’t taken him to the front porch before. But it’s different when you don’t have the phone in your pocket or right next to you, always noticing its presence. With no temptation to check on the lives of others or to capture my own to maybe share later, it made for undivided attention on the sweet baby, rapt in new experiences. It was the first time in a long time I felt truly in the present moment, and it was beautiful.
I also read. I napped. I did the Sunday crossword. The one in the real paper, the hard copy.
I realized at some point that I didn’t know exactly what time it was, and when I went into the kitchen to check the clock on the stove, I was surprised at how little time had passed. The day was slower, quieter, restful.
I think I finally experienced some of what the Sabbath is supposed to be…different, a day set apart from the others.
Catholic Unplugged 