Unplugged evenings
You can have whatever you like
Hi there,
I began this journey, life unplugged, years ago to find out if it was still possible; if there was an alternative to what they say is just life now— To live you must scroll. I write to say it is possible and if it’s possible for me, it is possible and it is possible for you. You can have whatever you like.
Five things to share:
Recently before bed, I grabbed my laptop to watch something until I could fall asleep and in the midst of the British version of The Office playing (the only version available on Kanopy) it dawned on me that I would rather be in the dark, quiet of the night with my thoughts and dreaming of the morning to come to play with words than the noise from the internet keeping me company. It shocked and delighted me, that I now prefer my thoughts over the noise, the quiet of the dark night over the blinding lights of the computer; the rhythms of the night peering through my bedroom window to keep me company, the wind whispering, Good day, lady, time to rest now.
If you were to tell me a year ago that this would be possible, that one random day in May of 2024 I would be saying to myself, shocked and delighted, I much prefer a screen-free evening left to my thoughts and dreams than scrolling through the digital noise to avoid myself, I would laugh, and laugh, and laugh, and laugh and call you crazy— It felt impossible. And yet, lately, the most difficult part of the day to be offline, the evening, has become my most cherished time to be offline, away from the noise of the internet and into the dark, quiet of the night; chuckling to myself as I remember that funny thing one of my students said or smiling to myself at the way that stranger smiled at me on the train on my way home, and dreaming of the morning to come to play with words until sleep takes its course.
A year ago, I challenged myself to (re)learn how to spend my evenings offline, alone, in solitude. A year later, dreams do come true.
The hardest part about unplugging, going offline— without the socials, without the news, without the junk scrolltainment— is evenings that demand to be filled with anything but the quiet and stillness of the night. And going out has become my new escape. I know, I know, lucky me. What a blessing to have the means, the reasons, the people to go out and do things with, to enjoy being alive throughly. Thank you, thank you, thank you, more please. Still, I want to face the fear, that unease I feel with being alone, being present: I’m tired of running. For May, I’m challenging myself to (re)learn how to spend my evenings offline, alone, in solitude. All that running away ain't free anyway.A quote I want to share with you:
In this short Life —
That only lasts an hour
How much - how little - is
Within our power.
— Emily Dickinson (Source)
What we the good people of time spent offline the Substack newsletter also are not going to do is call Twitter anything but Twitter. Please. Some dignity is a requirement for the living. With that said, Will Twitter be around this time next year?
A question/challenge for you: How The Fuck Is Screen-Free Evening Impossible? Just Walk Away From The Screen. Close Your Eyes. (Adapted from)
And I must repeat, apologies if it’s getting too repetitive, kind of annoying really, but you must understand, you must know, YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
That’s all for this week!
Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.
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Until next time,
Mehret