My break from agendas

posted by blair on 29th, 2010

I recently was able to get the chance to go on vacation this past week, spending a week on a cruise ship that visited the island ports of San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua (pronounced ANTIGA), Tortola and Nassau, Bahamas.

Probably some of the things most people will say they like about a cruise is getting to enjoy the buffets, be waiting on by staff or just having the opportunity to do nothing the whole trip. Others might point out the amazing talent of the ship’s shows or the creative activities orchestrated by the energetic entertainment staff (one activity on our ship was learning Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance).

Yet what I found most enjoyable about my vacation was the simple joys of not having an agenda for a week, especially one monitored by a cellphone or computer.

The agendas I speak of are those that are non-work related, those that revolve around the so-called idea of keeping up with others through instant technology.

I had forgotten a little of what it was like to not have a cellphone on hand or the opportunity to look at a computer screen to check e-mail. It’s amazing how lost you feel with something that is supposed to be more helpful in life but can sometime take away more of your precious time than you originally wanted it to.

What I found was that I came back to the simple pleasure of non-electronic activities, like reading, sleeping and, especially, getting to know people face-to-face instead of through texting, phone calls or facebook.

Spending time with people and taking the chance of saying I’ll be at this place at this time and then hoping we would cross paths along the way helped replenished me from what agendas take away, the ability to communicate face-to-face and the time to get to know someone.

Although I enjoyed the trip and going to the different ports in the Caribbean, I liked most just getting the chance to reconnect with my natural communication skills – ability to talk and carry on a conversation, the chance to be more spur of the moment with my time and the chance to appreciate more of the innocence of life.

You don’t have to take a cruise to get to this technology-free state of mind – go camping, stay with a friend or make a trip down to your old stomping grounds. Turn off the computer and cellphone, and reconnect with yourself again!