Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Leaving the Net for a Virtual Retreat

After years of ever-accelerating pervasive immersion in the network stream, I'm taking an extended break in order to gain some much-needed perspective . . . to remember what it's like to live outside of the global village, unlinked from the constant virtual presence of the electronic tribe. I'm going to turn off my news feeds, disconnect from social networks and refrain from posting on blogs and media sharing sites. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Or what may change when I find my way back. But I will return. Hopefully refreshed, renewed and with a conscious direction.
"Our online phantom world has become the new us. We create complex webs of information and people who support us, and yet they are fleeting, so tenuous. Time speeds up and then it begins to shrink. Years pass by in minutes. Life becomes that strange experience in which you're zooming along a freeway and suddenly realize that you haven't paid any attention to driving for the last fifteen minutes, yet you're still alive and didn't crash. The voice inside your head has become a different voice. It used to be "you." Now your voice is that of a perpetual nomad drifting along a melting landscape, living day to day, expecting everything and nothing."  Douglas Coupland, Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!

11 comments:

Mo Werefox said...

your words are always so close to my way of SLife... ty, to give words to many of my feelings

sororNishi said...

Have a good break. We will miss you.

Anonymous said...

That sounds exciting. Im sort of tempted to try. But i dont know if i would make it? A week? I dunno... Good luck!

Chrome said...

Excellent idea, Bot. Good to rediscover your own inner resources now and then. Enjoy the break; looking forward to Botgirl 2.0.

Honour McMillan said...

I look forward to your return! But come back with some opinions dammit :p

May O. Mingzi said...

I just took a short retreat myself. It's important to get away occasionally so you can recharge, especially if you're an introvert. Hope to see you back before too long.

Yordie Sands said...

Please keep us informed and return when the time is right.

DeNovo Broome said...

Find a wood to walk in and get to know a tree. Go trick-or-treating. Drink single-malt whiskey with someone truly interesting.
Read at least ONE of those books you mean to read when you have time.
SL will be here when you get back. Almost certainly. :}

Rebekah Cavan said...

Enjoy and relax. I occasionally will unplug and go for a long, long walk in the woods. I'd love to take a week or more and get back in touch with my quieter self. Thanks for the reminder.

VERITASENSE said...

What difference do you think there will be? Is your rl as colorful as your virtual one? I escape to sl PRECISELY for the reasons you are leaving; to hyper LIVE.

Botgirl Questi said...

Thanks for the well wishes! Just peeking in after sending a postcard.