How Healthy Is Your Virtual Life?

virtuallife

“Sip. Don’t GULP!”

Growing up, this was a hard and fast rule in our house whenever we were lucky enough to have juice in the fridge.

I still remember my sister asking for her very own bulk size container of grape fruit juice for her birthday and marking the liquid level with permanent marker every time she took a drink. (A genius plan to discover if anyone had been sneaking her juice.)

Despite the sounds of it, I didn’t live a deprived childhood. We did however, learn the valuable skill of savoring.

Sa-vor: To taste and enjoy it completely.

In a world that promotes speed and instant gratification, it can be a challenge to savor very much in life.

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If our lifestyle and experiences always happen in the fast lane, the ability to savor (and enjoy it completely) is lost in the speed of it all.

A fullness of joy requires all of our senses to be employed.

Taste. Smell. Touch. Sound. And sight.

To give adequate attention to each brings a full sensory experience.

Perhaps it is cradling a newborn, inhaling their new baby smell, and listening to their delightful babble.

Maybe it is a walk in nature with the fall breeze on our faces, the crunch of the leaves underfoot and the glorious symphony of colors in our view.

Think on your most joyful experiences in your life and very likely they were experiences that employed all your senses.

It’s one of the marked differences between virtual experiences and real life experiences.

As amazing as technology is, it simply cannot duplicate the magnificence of the human body experience.

  • Looking at gorgeous styled food pictures just isn’t the same as tasting homemade bread warm from the oven.
  • Listening to itunes just isn’t the same as sitting in a live concert with music being created in the moment.
  • Skyping with family isn’t the same as a warm embrace and sharing the same physical space.

 

They’re better than nothing and most certainly convenient–but still can’t replace the “real thing”.

Yet how often do we give more attention to the virtual when opportunities for a full sensory “reality” experience pass us by?

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As I’ve been researching how to have a healthy virtual life for my Digital Detox course, I have loved the parallels that I have found to the food world.

Having a Healthy Virtual Life Requires Me to:

1. Make my information “diet” one that is nutritious.
2. To be moderate in consumption.
3. And most of all, to savor my experiences. Both in reality and the virtual world.

I’m really excited about the Digital Detox course. It has totally evolved from my crazy dramatic desires to live a hermit life for several months to “find myself again”, to a more simple and realistic approach designing a healthier digital lifestyle that feeds my soul rather than depletes it. Not to mention, a virtual life that is also more fulfilling only when my real life is meaningful first.

Making Real Life Meaningful First

In effort to work on making my real life meaningful, here’s a little glimpse of our visit to the Harvest Celebration at the local Farmers Market last week. I absolutely love how “slow” the experience of bringing food to your table is when you buy your produce from local farmers you meet face to face and the process of cooking from scratch includes knowing the history of what is on your plate.

It certainly requires one to savor.

What are your favorite tips for a healthy virtual life?

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bwselfie Brooke Snow is a photographic artist and delights in the pursuit of a meaningful life. Sign up for her FREE e course “Living A Thriving Life” to learn more about how to find true balance in your life. Brooke lives in Northern Utah with her calm husband and adventurous 3 year old son.

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