With this past month seeing the release of the new IPhone 6, my daughter obtaining her school mandated 7th grade laptop, the launch of the Chinese internet company Alibaba on the stock market; I decided to do something different recently and get back to the basics. In central Virginia there is a 3 day event called Field Days of The Past. It features items and customs back to early America. There are many exhibits and demonstrations of hand furniture making, old tractors and horse drawn carriages, Model T Ford cars and even an old restored Stage coach. There were plenty of farm animals, a rodeo, and I even learned that linen is actually made from the Flax plant. The same flax that gives us flax seeds which as most know has been found to contain so many nutritional properties.
The only rule that I had for the day with my daughter was no electronics, including cell phones, (except to be kept for safety) but they had to remain in our pockets. We spent most of the day there and the family had a great time. I then recalled a term I read about several years ago, ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’. This was discussed in a great book called Spontaneous Happiness by Dr. Andrew Weil, a well known Integrative Medical Practitioner. While I do not believe that this is an actual psychiatric disorder, it does draw attention to how little time most people simply spend outdoors anymore.
When was the last time you took a short walk just for the sake of getting some fresh air, or just looked at the changing leaves as fall is here? When did you last look at the stars at night or the clouds during the day with your kids and laugh about what shapes you thought they looked like?
So, in the course of your journey to become more Fit, Fearless and Fabulous, don’t forget to get reconnect with some of the simple things in life. These simple things can help you feel more connected, more peaceful , more energetic and maybe most importantly, more real.
And, by the way, we all had a great time and my 12 y.o. daughter survived the day with no cell phone.
– Dr. V
That sounds like so much fun! I love the idea of spending time together without any electronics!
What a great idea- no tech for a day! And the perfect event to do that at- Field Days of the Past sounds so fun! Did they have homemade apple butter? Because girl, I would SO be there for that. π
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
Wow what a great idea–I think it is so easy to get caught up in and distracted by all the media around us that we never live in the moment and enjoy it π glad you all had a great time!
Tori
FashionBlingGirlyThings
I’m always amazed by how much happier I am when I spend time outside! Thanks for this reminder. I’m hoping to soak up some sunshine this weekend.
Simplicity Relished
sounds so much fun! in the end when they dont use their phones in the whole day they enjoy it way more! and they miss it a bit at first, but they forget and just enjoy!
What a great idea! I’ve been trying to “unplug” more lately since I feel like I’ve been checking my phone/computer too often and should be more present. Sounds like a fun day with your daughter π
lovejoanna.com
Oh my goodness! I love how you found an event like this – I would LOVE to go to something like that. It would be such an experience! Thanks for sharing this!
This is my first time on your blog and I love it! I can’t wait to see more posts in the future!
Naima
http://www.MilkStripes.com