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Life Offline

Even my computer wasn't quite sure what to make of my decision to log off last week...

That was the LAMEST attempt at logging off yet! I admit it. And it was all my fault because I forgot to take care of some things that you absolutely have to take care of as a small biz owner no matter what- take care of your customers and business FIRST. I had some loose ends and discovered just how much I relied on facebook to communicate with certain people about business. So my desire of disconnecting totally from facebook was not fulfilled. Thats ok, I'm trying it again this week now that I don't have art to pick up from venues or people waiting on projects or things to deliver. I can just be  a painting hermit with no obligations to anyone. Please?
Life offline was interesting and I noticed when I did pop on for a minute or two to get info or do business I did NOT miss the constant stream of opinions that constantly flows down the newsfeed. I was no longer in anyones business and they were no longer in mine. I did get a few tastes of how our online culture has shaped the way we communicate now. But that wasn't an eye opener really. I have long known that because we are protected by little screens and cellphone screens we can just pop off any comment to someone without really thinking about it or how it was going to come across. It  usually comes out in a way you WOULD NEVER dare to say to that person face to face and usually out of context -a fired off little word missile that hits its target with no shrapnel back at you because you can just log off, click on a new window and go about your life. I had some of that this week and am adopting a new attitude about it. If I don't know you and you're shooting your little misguided missile at me I'm going to view it as I would a bird flying into my field of vision and out. Not going to care. I don't know you and your words mean nothing. If you are someone I know shooting off something like that to me I'm going to kindly ask you to CALL ME or see me face to face and please repeat what you just said. I'm not playing hide behind the screen games anymore. Game Over on that. I'm a human being with feelings and view you as the same. Logging off this week was a great help in reconnecting me to my human side.
I also picked up my reading while I wasn't online. Real books. I am rereading my Beginning Mindfulness book which teaches you how to be in the moment. It's a study in zen meditation and I have been away from it for too long. I need that back in my life. It is showing me how to enjoy the simple act of being, putting my thoughts back into the present and not into the future or past. We only have right now and that is all that matters right now- so guide your actions accordingly.
But what I mainly did while I was offline was PAINT PAINT PAINT. And I finished one!
"The Path of Perpetual Pursuit"
I also went to two art shows, got contracts faxed over to galleries, adopted a new decluttering system of picking up 10 items a day and returning them where they belong, turned in all my work to Composite magazine for the March edition, lost 2 lbs and learned some new recipes. It's kind of amazing how much time being online eats up without you realizing, how it starts shaping your relationships to people and how you treat them and all the wonderful things that exist OFFLINE that are waiting to be discovered.
So with that being said- TAKE 2 of Life Offline for this upcoming week is in order. I figure I have about 30 new paintings that I need to pull out of thin air and my time needs to be maximized....and theres talk of me doing a mural project that will require me working nights and thats going to be tons of fun resetting my sleep schedule. Can I do it all? I'm sure gonna try.

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