A few weeks ago, I decided to take a Facebook fast – a break from Facebook(FB) for five days.

Here is what I noticed:

Day 1- Two friends who I hadn’t heard from in a long while called to talk. I was overjoyed.

Day 2- I forgot to turn my notifications to e-mail off and noticed someone had mentioned me in a post. I was curious, of course. I considered cheating, by checking on Shane’s FB page but decided not to. It was tempting though.

Day 3 – I felt a little lonely. I didn’t mind.

Day 4 – I noticed nothing!

Day 5 – I noticed that I was reluctant to get back on FB but I did anyway. Then I decided to take another five day fast. Throughout this time, I noticed my compulsion to check for incoming messages in the “in between times” which amounted to several times a day. I missed doing this.

I have now returned to Facebook and decided to take a 30 day rest, as well as a partial rest from e-mail.  I have been reading Christina Crook’s book called The Joy of Missing Out:  Finding Balance in a Wired World. It is a thought provoking book.

I am reminded of when Shane and I decided not to replace our broken TV, and my mum said “You will be missing so much.” I was reading a lot and wanted to respond that she was also missing a lot but thankfully, did not.

Getting off Facebook for a while is less about rejecting Facebook than about choosing a different way to spend my time. Facebook has introduced me to new ways of thinking, has been a great tool in my art business, has started many a day with a belly laugh, and has brought me into contact with people I would not be in touch with otherwise. Living without FB, and with less e-mail will give me more downtime, more time to “simply be.” A different rhythm woven through my days and nights.

Here is what I want to do more of:

Take quiet time and burrow in.

Make fewer connections. Savour silence. Have more conversations, face to face or on the phone.

Write some letters.

Listen to old podcasts of Tom Power’s Deep Roots.

Sit and stare. Useless sitting. Dream-time…

Read long articles. Poetry. Difficult books.

Feel lonely. Or not.

Look at picture books.

Create art.

Bake bread. Savour the smell while its baking.
Read aloud. Play backgammon and scrabble.

Nap frequently in the afternoon sun.

Walk with the dogs. Brush the horses.Listen to their soft slow breath. Sit and cuddle with our cat.

Hopefully, skate. And shovel!!

Enjoy the dark. Light a candle, beeswax, of course, made by Shane.

Stare into space.

Take quiet time and burrow in deep.

Feel gratitude spread slow and warm .