The Counterintuitive Necessity of Disconnecting

How often do you intentionally disconnect from your daily digital reality? Ever since traveling became a viable option for me (financially speaking), I've developed an intentional habit of taking at least one week every year to untether entirely. I'm not talking about a trip to Cancun where you technically have an "out of office" autoresponder enabled but find a new appreciation for daily Instagram dives while laying by the pool. I'm talking about COMPLETE DISCONNECTION where you don't even have the option of a few harmless texts.

Finding this type of solitude (freedom?) has become a liberating necessity in my life. I don't even give myself the option of skipping it. Every year I simply know that there will be at least one week set aside to get outside, play in the mud, scramble through boulder fields, smell flowers, breathe deeper, and ignore the incessant tug of my iPhone.

Many of my #PALnet and #Steemit peeps have noticed my absence, and while part of me wants to apologize for being checked out, I know that for me personally, this time away is the only thing that keeps me going once I get jacked back into the Matrix. There will be no apology for personal preservation and taking the time I know to be so valuable.

All photos are original (with the occasional addition of a hipstergram filter)...enjoy a moment of vicarious disconection. Do you have a similar practice? Please share your personal strategies and/or favorite destinations in the comments.

Lake Louise - BC, Canada