Take a Technology Break
Author Mindy Starns Clark shares some wonderful insights regarding our technology choices in today’s post, taken from her helpful little book A Pocket Guide to Amish Life.
On a recent vacation to upstate New York, my family and I stayed in a cottage near Lake Champlain. The place was surrounded by all sorts of opportunities for water sports, hiking, sightseeing, and more. When we arrived, I told my husband I was glad to see that the cottage had a television, as I had brought my Wii Fit just in case.
“Wii Fit?” he laughed. “How about we go outside and enjoy some real fit?”
It’s easy to forget how “simulated” our lives are these days. Studying the Amish way of life reminds us that we can survive without all of the gadgets and devices that we think are so indispensible.
We also need to keep in mind technology’s “dark side”: cell phones that stop us from ever getting away from the office, texting that lets our teenagers carry on conversations with their friends while pretending to listen to their teachers, cable television that brings things into homes that we would never invite.
Just as I put away the Wii Fit and picked up a canoe paddle at the lake, may we all pause now and then to evaluate our technological choices, weigh the pros and cons of each, and eliminate or moderate as necessary. By emulating the peaceful, technology-free evenings in Amish homes, may we bring peace and quiet back to our own.
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Dear Mindy,
What a surprise to hear that you were on vacation on Lake Champlain, NY. I am originally from that area. At one time we could see the lake from our home. We have lived in Michigan for the past 24 years, but our hearts are still in the Lake Champlain area. We try to go back at least once a year. We miss the Adirondack Mountains.
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