I Took a Vacation

I'm not sure if this is a writing post, per se, but it's my first leap back into my personal work since I got back from vacation. I spent a glorious (mostly - it was post-hurricane) week at sea on a Carnival cruise ship and visited some lovely ports with clear water and powdery sand. Although they were hot as hell, I must say, and therefore I need to cruise in the winter.

I did a lot of things on this trip like salsa dancing with my main squeeze, looking at the Milky Way, competing in a Cotton Eyed Joe dance off, and enjoying good dinner company with some people who are now our friends. But mostly I got a nice mental break from all the buzzing.

Do you know what I mean?

It seems like there is this constant buzzing with all the technology around us, and not a good sort of buzzing like a bumble bee that pollinates the tomatoes I'm going to eat next month. A buzzing like my brain is on speed and I can't get away. Or like I'm on a stationary bike in the world's longest spin class, and I'm going to eventually spin myself completely off and fly right into a grave.

I think it's important that we all step away from time to time. It's amazing how much you can get done when you step away from a screen, and it's amazing how calm life feels too. When that buzzing stops. When your brain is no longer being shocked by the constant onslaught of information that keeps it turning and flipping when all it wants to do is rest.

I am trying once again to keep this sort of "vacation" going, the one from media and screens. I've tried before and I've failed, but I want to try again. Life is just so much more pleasant that way and I feel like I can accomplish things that I wouldn't otherwise be able to do. Because who can accomplish anything when you allow your brain to be sucked through your eyeballs and into your smartphone?

I know that's a little bit of a hyperbole. Or maybe a really odd metaphor. But that's sort of how I feel after getting away from it for long enough to actually detox. You know, like a druggie. And now I don't even want to take one hit because I'm afraid I'll get sucked back into the vortex. So I'm really being cautious. And I'm spending a lot of time on Instagram.

I think that's about all I had to say today and yeah, that's not really a writing post. It's a life post. And that's ok too, because I like to write about life. And because I never include pictures, I'm going to include one now. The view was lovely. Jamaica mon!