Frost has covered the grounds for weeks now. I guess that is not so good in California. It doesn't happen often and the crops are suffering.
I noticed the frost but hadn't thought much of it. I'd wake when it was still dark and climb the mountains, enlivened by the brisk on my lungs.
You see, I live in a forest on the ocean where I have no mobile phone signal or internet (there is internet at work but it is so slow and on an old PC in a room full of people, I get too frustrated to go on it) or TV (but I haven't watched TV since I was a teenager). I also have no newspaper. I basically have no idea what is happening in the world.
It takes a trip to town to hear that the frost has caused a loss of billions.
It's kind of fun, going to the local coffee shop to get the news, a bit old school.
A guest called to make a reservation the other day and I went over my usual list of what to expect and when I got to the no cell phone, no wifi part, the guest made a comment on how different that was, that you never find spots where you aren't connected. We are always connected. Well, expect me. I am here or had been in rural France, Spain, Alaska and such.
Being disconnected is now a novelty.
I don't form an opinion either way. I love experiencing life without it. I don't watch TV, for me, it is a time suck. I'd rather climb a mountain or ride my bike and feel the feelings of elation running through my cells. But, when it comes to the internet, I love it and I hate it.
I love it for a medium to write and share photography. I love it to connect with my friends I have made all over the world. I love it for research. I love it for ideas being spread. I love it for minimalism (with the iphone I don't need books, a music player, a calender, a notepad...), I love it for inspiration.
And then I hate it. I hate it because I can spend hours clicking buttons, staring at a screen and not having accomplished anything. I hate it because when I think about it, it's not an experienced life. It's my body, sitting still, alone, staring at box when I could be out there meeting and connecting with people, hiking, biking, having adventures, taking photos, creating stories...
Here, when I do something, I get to truly be in it. When I hike through the forest, I know I will receive no calls and no buzzes on my iphone.
I feel used up at the end of the day. I have used my body, I have had conversations with people, I have been present. And when I sleep, oh my goodness, my forever light sleep, is not so light. It is deep. I was thinking about this the other day. My room has no machines plugged in. No internet box, no wifi, no computer, clock, TV, and what ever else you plug in. Nothing, just a really mellow lamp.
Cities always made me feel like I stuck my finger in a socket and here, in the woods, I feel peace of mind. (this will be big in the future, the great disconnect, let's open a lodge!)
xx