February… What a month that was!
If I had to think of one word to sum up February, it would be “Change”.
I’m not sure what life is like in your corner of the world, but here in Somerset, Queensland, February is hot, humid and going… going… pretty much gone in the blink of a proverbial eye. But I guess that happens when everyone in your household marches to the beat of the school-calendar drum. Sadly, due to this affliction (school going back and routine coming in like an avenger to slay the holiday vibe), the kayak (purchased last month) has not seen the water and the camera has not had many outings. However, the house has returned to its peaceful, calm self.
Is it wrong to love both the holidays because of the freedom and work because of the peace?
Right or wrong, it’s the way of my fickle heart. However, one thing that has come out of my desire to maintain the freedom and invest in the peace is to put away my phone. As you would quite likely be aware, I am not the best pursuer of Social Media. It is definitely not my happy place. Nor is it that place I go to take a break. I go because I have been told it is good for me—as a writer—to have a social media presence (thankfully, I love photography!)
My happy place and “go to” for de stressing and decluttering my mind (read: escape from responsibilities) is puzzles. I can, and have, spent hours happily wasting time hiding from the uglies, solving puzzles on my phone.
I can rationalise this past-time (read: time-sink) by declaring:
- “We all need down time” (because it’s true)
- “Doing puzzles is healthy and activates/stimulates my brain” (which is also true)
- “I only play the free ones, so I’m not wasting money” (both valid and true).
But, when I let it become all-consuming and an escape route from what I should be doing… or better yet, what I could be doing, these rationals just don’t cut it.
I have been convicted by God over the past month to put the phone away, delete all puzzles (yes, even the boring ones), and find other avenues for the afore-mentioned de stressing and decluttering. This was when I was confronted by the ugly truth that puzzles had become my addiction of choice (a legal addiction, cheap, and relatively non damaging to others, but an addiction nonetheless).
Oh how it hurt. I mean, it actually hurt. The debates I had with myself (thankfully, as I said earlier, the house is mostly empty during the day) fighting the urge to just play for 5 minutes… just 1 game… even one I didn’t really like? But no. I managed to stay strong and did not revert to my puzzling ways.
What did I do in the meantime?
Good question.
I am learning the art of sitting quietly. No phone, no book, no nonsense (that last one is not completely true, I can’t escape my brain). But just sitting, breathing, listening and watching the wildlife around me (no, not family). Or, if it’s at night, the darkness. I don’t use the time for uploading prayer points to God, but I do actively seek Him and spend quality time in His presence. If I’m on the deck, I will have my camera and take some shots of birds they happen by.
But that’s it. It has taken me a month, but I will admit, it has become one of my favouritest things to do. I now keep a journal with me and take note of things that come to me in this space.
I still use my phone for all the important things like reading books, emails, checking the weather and posting the odd photo. Oh, I actually made a phone call the other day too. I have not become anti-tech, just anti wasting-time-addictions. And I will admit, my productivity and sense of sanity (my sense of it, not necessarily others’), have dipped their toes into the reality that is my daily life.
What about you?
Do you have any legal addictions that interrupt your life? Have you tried something like this? Have you ever been tempted to? Let me know what you did and how you did it. And more importantly, what were the results?
In other news, despite being fast (time being relevant and all) and furious (the weather is still a tad ferocious) February, the month that was:
- The first rest month from the novel – Book 5. Tomorrow sees the birth of deep edit 1
- Finally getting to meet the whole of my year 7 class. Took a while to get sorted, but we got there in the end, (12 in all)
- Not only have I had the privilege of preaching the second in my series, I had the opportunity to fill in for a friend and preached twice. (See “From the Blog” below) as well as getting back into fortnightly mentoring of the high school kids at our church.
- We had the first Somerset Writers Group (SWG) meeting for 2024 and heard a collective of short stories on the theme, “White Paint”.
- The proof of the 2023 SWG book, “Return” was sent off for print approval
- I have been experimenting with video, capturing birds in the bath (as wrong as that sounds, it’s actually quite cool). I just have to figure out the best way to share them. Probably on my YouTube Channel. Stay tuned!
Enough about me, how has your February flown?
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Read on to find links to the month that was.
- Info about the books: You can find them all here.
- From the Blog: Christian Foundations – Daniel 2: Confidence in the Covenant & Daniel 3: Death-Defying Faith
- Links to the podcast: yes, the Gracewriters podcast
- Bonus Content: Ode to Valentine’s day: It’s all about love, but not the way you might think.
- Shots of the month: Photography, not weaponry
PS: All typos are my gift to you. They are evidence of an authentic, original newsletter, written with my own typo-prolific fingers : )
