I had a raucous game night with college friends on Friday! Such ridiculousness! So strange to not be able to hug and high five and shoulder punch them all…
This past week I…
put in a 40-hours work work as the Operations Coordinator at Green Hammer
got homework submitted for my Sustainable Homes Professional class
attended my SmartBody SmartMind class
did conditioning workouts with my Echo Theater adult aerial class
selected produce to cook with this week
had an appointment with my naturopath
had an appointment with my therapist
made grilled cheese and tomato soup with Simply Homies
saw my nieces and nephews
made new connections at the Build Small Coalition meeting
hung out with dear friends from Vermont over cider and chocolate AND
had a raucous game night with college friends on Friday night
…all from the comfort of my own home, of course.
And it occurred to me, part way through the week, as I was popping in and out of zooms and facetimes and hangouts and phone calls and texts that we’re now living in real virtuality!
I told my friend Chris about real virtuality while we were in the kitchens of two separate houses in Portland, grilled cheese and tomato soup on the stove in both of them. And he typed this little note on his beloved typewriter and shared it with me via our Google Hangout video chat. So meta.
When I was little we used to talk about how cool it would be if we could see people while we were talking to them on the phone. Now it’s the future. Most of the things I did this week involved seeing other people while talking to them, but virtually.
“Are you sharing time and space with anyone these days?” a friend, who also happens to be a counselor, asked me earlier this week. Turns out, I’m sharing lots of time with people these days, but the only critter I’m sharing space with is Raffi.
Finally got a (mostly) ergonomic standing desk set up in my tiny house (notice the keyboard and mouse supports). Now in addition to sharing my pillow with the little bugger I’m also sharing my standing pad. He stood with me for a full 45 minutes the other day while I was working. Solidarity. Thanks, pal!
I’ve joked since I became our family’s computer geek at 11 years old that I’m a little bit bionic. Tech has always made sense to me (except for when it really doesn’t and that’s super frustrating!) So part of me is extremely grateful for the technology that’s allowing me to stay connected to loved ones near and far. But part of me was horrified to realize that my average number of phone pick ups last week was 90, which was up 54% from the week before. (I’d never looked at my Screen Time stats before, but I was curious.) Granted, I can’t just turn around and talk to a coworker anymore, so a lot of this is for work. But it’s also curiosity about what’s happening in the world and attempting to remain socially connected even when physically distant. I got truly spooked about COVID-19 this week, but I also was totally inspired, especially by the Silver Linings Challenge. (Check out last week’s Silver Linings & Global Challenges blog post for more.)
I want to use technology to stay connected and informed, but also to set it aside so that I do not fritter away this time for solitude and embodiment. Our society is so obsessed with busyness, but it appears the best way to slow the spread of this pandemic is to slow down ourselves. So I’m going to try that more this week. I set some screen time limits, which was a suggestion from a friend of a friend in her mental health wellness tips for quarantine. Instead I’m going to focus on things that are real rather than virtual, things I can experience in a sensory way: training Raffi to be a shoulder cat, working in the garden, walking in my neighborhood, and savoring cooking, eating, and sleeping.
My friend Jessica, a school teacher who is now teaching virtually, inspired me to practice with Raffi to see if I can convince him to be a shoulder pet like a parrot. This was our first attempt…
I’m inspired by my beloved Yestermorrow (a portmanteau of Yesterday and Tomorrow), which embraces the best of both worlds, looking to the past for wisdom and the future for inspiration. I imagine it will be a combination of both the technological and the analog, the connection and the solitude, as we navigate the weeks ahead.
Be safe. Be well. Be real.