For a season, my spouse worked tech support for a laboratory automation company. It amazed me how often the problem was solved by unplugging the instrument, waiting ten seconds, and plugging it back in. Yet, this solution works for a lot of technology, including my work computer. Most technology is not designed to run 24/7/365. Cars, computers, cell phones, tablets, and laboratory equipment all need a rest from time to time. And so do we.
My first semester in seminary included a requirement to go on a retreat. At the beginning of this retreat, we had to turn off our cell phones and place them in a basket. We were required to disconnect for a time. I know several people who will take a break from social media for a season. My neighbor takes a technology break for one week every year and spends the week at the beach, recharging and renewing. Taking an intentional break, disconnecting for a purpose, is often life-giving.
Too often we either push through, insisting we can do this, we can get this done, and drive ourselves to exhaustion; or we realize we can’t, and we disconnect by ghosting. Ghosting is where you disconnect without letting anyone know and just... disappear. It has become quite prevalent. You don’t answer calls. You delete phone numbers. You delete apps or accounts. It’s as if to say, “I don’t want to talk to you, but rather than tell you that, I’m just going to avoid you.” Avoidance is a generally unhealthy form of disconnection. While we may be avoiding the problem, relationship, or project, and avoiding a harmful situation does keep us safe, the counter to avoidance is accepting and setting a needed boundary. Rather than set a healthy boundary for connection, however, we seem to be prone to disconnect altogether.
Intentional disconnection, which you communicate, define its length, and set a particular purpose for it, can be quite life-giving. Whether a week or a season or even just 24 hours, it can be helpful to disconnect in order to recharge. It’s similar to the disconnect of sleeping at night in order to renew and be ready for the day. My spouse has to remind me to turn my phone off periodically because it works better when it has time off. I work better when I have time off. We all work better when we have time off, when we disconnect for a time and then reconnect. What do you need to disconnect from for a season so that you can return refreshed and renewed?