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SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE . . .
Last week I accompanied my extended family on a trip to the Catalonian coast (Costa Brava). Beyond the delight of exploring the stunning seaside terrain (one can walk the 43 kilometer coastal path), and the beauty and richness of connecting with a culture different from the one in which I grew up (the language, the Vermouth, the late cadence of the meals), I made one decision that fundamentally transported me to an entirely different daily experience: to leave my phone and computer behind.
When I communicated this plan to friends and loved ones prior to the trip, the responses ranged from (mostly) excitement (with a twinge of jealousy) to fear (Will you be safe? What if there is an emergency?!?).
Granted, this luxury was bolstered by the fact that six other adults would have their smart phones handy for the trappings of current-day life, if needed: to pull up boarding passes when a printer was not accessible, to use it to easily navigate the roads, and to communicate with each other to reunite after we scattered for our own adventures. There are certainly ways that the tool of technology provides convenience and ease.
But more than anything, I myself felt eager and curious: would I feel like I had lost an appendage? Would I feel disconnected? Would I be able to keep up? Would I squander the experience of travel by leaving behind this tool that would help me 'make the most of it'? And perhaps most acutely, what would I do with the guilt of being 'tuned out' from devastating events of the world?
In my experience, from the second I turned it off and left it behind I felt nothing but relief, sweet freedom, a groundedness, and a sense of adventure. These themes continued throughout the 10 days of travel.
One morning during our brief two day stay in Barcelona our eldest kiddo, Enzo, expressed an interest in visiting La Sagrada Familia. Everyone else wanted to sleep in, so Enzo and I embarked on our adventure. Without access to Google Maps I made my way to the concierge who provided me with a paper map, imparting wisdom and insight about the best route. The GPS, he told me, would send me an entirely different way to get there the fastest, but this route would provide some other benefits in the form of sights, ease, and beauty. The lack of access to a tool of self-sufficiency yielded interaction, connection, and care in a most welcome way - a reminder that sometimes the tools meant to aid us can hinder our experience in ways we don't realize. Sometimes we need to rely on each other. Sometimes the experience and insight another human can offer provides more richness than a database can provide.
Similarly, my usual reflex to pick up my phone transformed into a reflex to pick up a book. I devoured 1,000+ pages, transporting me not only to the Costa Brava but to various lands, different time periods, and altered states of consciousness. My worry that I would not make the best use of my time in a new land evaporated into adventures beyond my wildest imagination.
But beyond those adventures of the mind came a rootedness and a presence for all those moments when my gaze went beyond my book.
The full days yielded a deep sleep - no doubt aided by the gentle sea breeze and the lull of the ever-moving water. Despite going to bed each night after 11 PM, I awoke easily and energetically before the sun rose. By 6 AM I strolled out the door, taking the coastal path to the next cove over - to Illa Roja (beach of the Red Island, named so due to the big red rock), otherwise known as Platja Nudista (a nude beach, should you want to partake and be even more nude than the generally topless beaches everywhere else along the coast).
The 25 minute walk to the beach yielded an epic rendition of the landscape at every twist and turn, yet the destination offered an even sweeter reward. As the sun rose up over the Mediterranean Sea I would leave all of my clothing on the shore and dip into the buoyant salty sea.
Each morning the same. Rise up with sun, stroll along the seaside, let the sea hold me. While most everyone opted to sleep in each day I could not imagine that any sleep could provide the energy that this morning ritual stoked inside me.
I felt a particular sense of delight when I replicated last week's newsletter to start to draft this one and read, for the first time, what Dorothy wrote last week. We agreed that with my travels and my decision to be untethered to technology, I would simply place my trust in her to get last week's newsletter out solo, without any input or revision from me.
It's not like us to go days without communication . . . yet when I read her suggestion for the 'one small thing' feature, I couldn't help but chuckle. We were thousands of miles away, with no presumable way to connect, and yet I was building a morning water ritual that anchored my daily experience.
We were without our technological tool for communication, but somehow we were more connected than ever, by forces more mystical and magical than our minds can comprehend. Just when we thought we were both solo, we realized we are even more connected than ever - most especially when we ground ourselves in respect for ourselves, each other, nature, and the transcendent forces of the universe. This is also how the guilt of turning away from the news cycle transmuted into a grounded sense of connection to life, spirit, and communication that is essential for shaping the world we imagine.
To the power of ritual and the spirit of connection,
Tay + Dor
photo of Platja De L'Illa Roja generously provided by my fellow traveler and lover of a good sea swim, Sarah Suarez
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