Finding My Brain Again

  I admit that I use my laptop more than I probably should but I do try to limit myself.  Several years ago, I had a sudden realization about these electronic devices.  I was talking on the phone while typing on the laptop with the TV blaring across the room.  Suddenly, my brain felt like it was going to explode. I needed to break free from this trap that I had created all by myself.  So, out went the TV, the phone is now used for emergencies or is "time limited" and the laptop minutes are highly regulated.  I am free.  I feel better.  The brain is not clogged with the need to be "connected".  Yes, I am still on social media but that is limited to less than an hour per day.  It was there that I found an example of exactly how I felt that day of my enlightening.  The meme showed a small tot of about two years old totally obsessed with a small screened electronic device while toys of creative play were shoved aside.  That is what this world has come to and it isn't good, folks, it isn't good.  

  Just after I mulled over that silly yet truthful meme, an article caught my attention.  It seems a study proved that the artificial light emitted by electronic devices actually can cause sleep deprivation.  Long term exposure can lead to depression and the inactivity experienced during the use can lead to a whole lot of physical problems.  I was heading down that very path until my purge of being "connected" but, I had the good sense to  back away.  Now, not only have I found more time to be creative, my physical and mental health have improved.  I have far more energy and feel better about myself overall.  Think about it this way.  Electronic devices mesmerize the mind and literally eat away at our health.  Why become so attached to something like that?  So...set a time limit!  It is that simple.

  One problem of being "connected" is that we have totally become "disconnected".  Our obsession with those blinky, bleepy, bright screens has blurred our vision of what is around us.  I see folks ignore the song of the mockingbird because they are too preoccupied with their phones.  Others are engrossed with TV screens/computer screens to the point that they cannot see an amazing sunset.  And kids are so absorbed in the nonsensical, repetitious riffraff  that they begin to lose the ability to think on their own. This makes me sad.  We have become a society with an infinite source of information at our fingertips but we are shutting our eyes to a world of reality that surrounds us.  

  Pondering all of this has made me realize that I did the smart thing in ditching the obsession and using technology as a tool and not a crutch.  That said, the sunrise this morning was gorgeous.  For those who missed it because you were glued to some electronic device, here is a photograph for you.