Yesterday, I woke up.  Yes, presumably a good way to begin the day!  BUT, I was immediately met with the DRILLING! “They” were breaking up and tarring the streets.   The noise level, I am willing to bet, was close to 85 dB (sound pressure level) that can cause NIHL (noise-induced hearing loss).  Seriously!

Even with the windows shut tight and the A.C. blasting, it sounded and felt like the workerPeople were in my living room, buzzing feverishly, breaking up my floors and drilling my brain.

The Escape
I decided to put work on hold and hike on over to the Central Park Conservatory Gardens.

As is my habit before I depart from the premises, I double-check my bag to make sure that I have my keys, cell phone, lip-gloss (you never know who you might run into), a piece of fruit (apples make good traveling companions as do little boxes of raisins*), a pen and paper (just in case an epiphany hits, because they are elusive litter buggers and dissipate quickly into the ethers) and my camera (again, you never know when you will stumble upon a turtle on a rock)!

Off I went, to Central Park.  As it turned out, my cell phone battery was DUA (dead upon arrival) and for a few moments, okay maybe even minutes, I felt a tad anxious.

In that state of (mild) anxiety (I don’t want to overplay this; get too dramatic – but nonetheless, there was a great deal of uneasiness rushing through my body), how sadly addicted I am to checking emails, and being connected.

I decided to reframe my anxiety, and experience this as an opportunity to detox. I could go cold turkey – yes, I could –  (antibiotic free, please), ride out the anxiety and see what it might be like to simply enjoy a walk in the park.

I’m betting you can guess what happened.  Sure thing! I had the most enchanting afternoon.     I moved from one park bench to another.  I unplugged; I enjoyed myself, I relaxed!

Being reachable every moment of the day is an ENORMOUS source of stress.  In my newly enlightened state, I invite you to decompress and get away from it all!

UNPLUG!!!
1.  Shut off the cell phone.
2.  Turning off your pager.
3.  Log off from the Internet.
4.  Unplug your phone!
5.  Find a place to just be.

Postscript: * An important tasty tidbit for those who are ‘dropping pounds.’  Always (and I seldom use words that are so ‘absolute’) bring a healthy snack with you; lest you get hungry sometime between here and there, your blood sugar drops, and your mind feeds you ‘eat it, it’s okay’ lines that you fall for hook, line and sinker!

Spread the word … NOT the icing,

Janice
wise * fun * utterly useful

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