Unplugging From the World at a Place Where Time Stands Still

For the first time this year, it's actually sunny and some semblance of warm out there... made me think about the possibility of summer, as well as summers gone by.

Recently, I have been reading quite a few articles about "unplugging" and getting away from "technological overload" and it made me think of one of my favorite places on the planet... so I wanted to share it with you.

The Pervasiveness of Our Technology

It really does seem like we're all "plugged in" at all times. It feels like people can barely make it through the day-- through a few hours even-- without checking their Facebook timeline or their twitter or their Instagram. Our phones are turned on 24/7... people can reach us all the time. 

I watch people wander through our small gallery and they are all holding their phones, and some of them even are "filming their life" as they go, rather than simply living their life.

OK, so I own a cell phone, just like everyone else. I use email. I even make most of my living through Internet sales.

And yet? I have never felt "obsessive" about being connected and checking in every five minutes. I think Facebook and twitter are cool deals... but I also can go a week or more without updating anything. It just depends.

These days, I probably spend more time with Steemit than any other kind of social media... and that's not even very much! So we can say that my technology addiction is pretty light. But even so...

Let's Go Back in Time-- Right NOW!

The idea of summer got me to thinking about my formative years and beyond... and how much time I spent at a place in Denmark where time stands still; where time almost ceases to exist. 

You see the house in the picture at right? 

That's my late Aunt Ulla's house... it's where I-- and almost everyone else who ever spent time there-- learned to "unplug" from the frenzy of our world, long before such an idea as unplugging had even been dreamed up. 

Go ahead and open the bigger version of the image-- yes, that IS really a thatched (straw) roof.

A Bit of Backstory

Ulla was my father's sister-- but she was actually 14 years older than he. 

Whenever my parents traveled (which was a LOT!) I would often go stay with my aunt. The house also served as a gathering place for an extended family and their friends. It was a haven of peace and quiet for everyone... a place of healing for those who were suffering some setback or major negative event; a place to decompress for those who lived stressful lives in the world.

Based on old family photos I've seen, I was no more than a few months old, the first time I came here. The photo at right shows my Aunt and I, making Christmas cookies there, when I was just five years old.

And even though it is 6,000 miles from where I now live on the US west coast, I still go back, every couple of years or so. When my Aunt passed away in 1997 (at age 93) she left the house in a "perpetual trust" for all surviving family members to use... as a kind of "family timeshare."

To Recharge and Renew-- Time Stands Still

The house was built in 1938 and sits on about 12 acres of woodlands, some 50 miles from the city of Copenhagen. My grandfather had it built as a "summer retreat" for he and my grandmother and their five children and extended families.

Something "happens" when you enter the property through the long wooded driveway... it truly is as if time "stops." Or maybe it just ceases to exist. It was that way in 1938-- and it remains that way in 2017.

Sure, things are not exactly as they were: The house has been thoroughly updated and renovated with modern bathrooms, a new kitchen; there's high speed wi-fi and flat screen TVs and all amenities you could want. 

But here's the odd thing: People don't tend to turn on the TV. People barely get on the Internet. Cell phones get switched off. The outside world-- somehow-- loses its "power" to steal people's attention... somehow, all those things just cease to be "important."

Back to What Truly Matters

Instead of staying in the modern world... visitors to the house choose to occupy themselves with things from a simpler time-- reading, writing in journals, playing cards, doing jigsaw puzzles, picking berries, taking walks, going to the beach, cooking elaborate meals, sleeping... and just TALKING and CONNECTING with each other. 

Over the past nearly 80 years, a few people have even come here to spend their final days. 

I used to think it was just something that happened to members of our family because we all have so many memories associated with the house. But this "unplugging" happens to everyone who visits... sometimes I watch how complete strangers often feel it more than the rest of us.

For some reason, people also sleep a lot more than normal, during their visits.

"Sitting and Seeing," and Other Traditions

When I was a boy, my Aunt taught me "how to relax," at this place. 

After lunch (or sometimes after breakfast) we'd sit on the red brick outdoor patio... and engage in what my Aunt called "sitting and seeing." We'd just sit quietly, not talking, and watch nature around us-- leaves in the breeze; butterflies going by; birds singing; clouds drifting overhead. 

It was some years after my Aunt's death before I realized that she had-- in essence-- taught me meditation. 

She never called it that-- and she wasn't in any way involved in Eastern beliefs or philosophy-- but she inherently understood the value of simply "sitting" with a feeling of peace and gratitude. 

You've occasionally seen me write about "The Fine Art of Doing Nothing" and I think I learned it mostly from her.

Comfort with Stillness and Solitude

I believe it may be because I spent so much time at this place that I today not only remain very comfortable with "being by myself," but don't feel any sense of "loss" at not having technology for a week or more. Don't get me wrong, I love and use our modern "connectivity" for all it is worth... but I still "unplug" and don't feel addicted to it, or dependent on it.

I expect I will keep returning to this magical place, for as long as I am able to draw breath.

The next scheduled visit is for June of 2018-- my wife and I will be ready for a break from life by then... she loves this spot as much as I do, and if all goes well I'll be Steeming updates from there!

... or not. I may just be zoning out.

How about YOU? Do you have a "special place" you go to, to disconnect from the world? Do you find it relatively easy to step away from the technology? Or is it a struggle to put away the phone for a few days? How do you like to spend your decompression time? Do you think technology can go so far as to be an "addiction?" Leave a comment-- share your experience-- start the conversation!

(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)