Unplug

You know what's sad?

Walking down the street and seeing everyone around you with ear buds in listening to the music on their fancy-schmancy iPods and iPhones, while texting frivolously as though it is a matter of life and death, or having a conversation on the phone while exclaiming OMG and LULZ, or even sitting outside with their laptops skyping people from far-away places and don't blink for a few solid hours.

Seriously people?

I know that we are technologically advancing faster than we can blink, and the gadgets are all new and exciting, and our materialistic society condemns us if we do not possess these things and integrate them into everything we do in our daily lives. But come now!

I dare you, yes YOU, to unplug yourself today. Challenge yourself. Detach yourself from your television, laptop, cellphone, music player, ipad, ANYTHING that requires your undivided attention and causes your brain to melt out of your ears. Just push it all away for an hour.

That's right, and hour. Think you can handle it?

I super duper double dog dare you.

"But Piper, whatever shall I do with my life?!" Well inquisitive and desperate reader, let me tell you all the wonderful things that you can do, and what people HAVE done before all of this technology butted in.

Take a leisurely walk, pick up a book (A book? What's that?), actually meet up with a friend and talk to them face to face (le gasp!), have an in-depth conversation over a cup of coffee, go on a spontaneous date with your loved one, play with your pet(s), be a cool parent and play hide-and-seek with your kids, something.

Encourage others to do so too! I promise that the hour will pay off, and will actually be beneficial for you. Slowly ween yourself off of the ideological notion that the people living inside your cell phone need to talk to you all the time. They can wait. Life can wait. So sit back, relax, and simply enjoy the silence of no annoyingly humming computer of keyboard clicking.

Take some photographs, paint a picture, do a workout, bake some celebratory cookies.

Go for it! Especially the cookies, everybody loves cookies.

I'll be unplugging for an hour as well today, I think my dusty "Pride & Prejudice" needs a little lovin'.

Be strong, you can do this, and remember, no peeking! Not for an hour.

Good luck! :)

~Piper