I am writing this column on a plane, on the way back from a two-week family vacation.
Before the flight, I debated whether to order an overseas package for my cell phone or give up. Finally, I made a decision: If you're going to dedicate time to your family - then do it to the end.
I took the SIM card out of the device, informed my colleague that I would be gone for two weeks, said that I would be without a cell phone, that urgent messages could be sent to email or WhatsApp. "I'll connect via the iFi when I get to the apartment and we'll be in touch.".
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And so it was.
Every evening, when we arrived at the apartment, the phone wouldn't stop beeping with messages and alerts, emails, and WhatsApp, Facebook, and news. I sat on the balcony in Barcelona, and I felt like I was in Israel.
I went on a 'vacation' with my family and spent it with friends and coworkers.
After a week, we set off for the Pyrenees Mountains, a 4-hour drive from the big city. We settled into a vacation apartment on the bank of a stream, between the mountains. From the window, a magical and relaxing view could be seen, the chirping of birds competed with the sound of the waterfall crashing on the rocks, the mountains gently merged with the clouds - and the soul found peace, faced with the wonders of creation and nature.
Nothing was missing in the apartment, except for a wifi connection.
I was stressed.
Being disconnected from the internet? For how many days? In 2014?
It seemed impossible to me!
We are addicted.
After a few days, I discovered how different our world can look when we disconnect from our smartphones and connect with ourselves. I discovered how much fun it is to enjoy the wonders of creation, the magical nature, and all the goodness that surrounds us.
I discovered how much fun it is to have fun with the family when they are together; I needed a few moments to get to know my child better, I suddenly realized how much he enjoys me being with him and only him, talking to him, listening to him, playing with him.
I discovered how many beautiful moments we lost while we were busy documenting them.
How stupid we are, people who are addicted to smartphones.
And how turned off we are in front of the lit screens.
I discovered how busy we are living the lives of others and not our own.
How much do we keep up to date with what's going on in our friend's families and less with what's happening in our own family?.
And how busy we are with impressing others and not satisfying ourselves.
I discovered a lot.
I discovered that we are raising synthetic youth who live and breathe media, that education has almost been taken away from parents and moved to screens, and how busy we are with educating others rather than ourselves.
These revelations hurt me.
They hurt me because I realized we were addicted; they hurt me because I realized there was almost no control over it; and they hurt me because I looked around and realized that everyone knew it, but no one was doing anything about it.
We were slaves - and still are.
Enslaved to the media, enslaved to digital, enslaved to lies.
Wave to life
The flight attendant asks with a smile to turn off digital devices before landing. I have to finish writing. In a few minutes I will put the SIM card back into the device and then I will be sucked back into the fake vortex of life where everything is tailored and digital.
I'm sure I'll read this column again tomorrow, when I get back to my routine, muttering to myself that I'm right, but... that's life.
At least I will take comfort in the fact that this column was written as a tribute to the real, happy life I experienced somewhere among the mountains, without the internet or a smartphone.
And if I was helped by a few readers along the way, that would be my reward.
Final tip: You don't have to fly all the way to the Pyrenees to have this experience. Try it for an hour a day, at home. Enjoyment guaranteed!
