To clear any misunderstanding, I am not talking about paranormal activity which the term 'cold spot' is often associated with.
Wisdom can be found everywhere from my backyard to down under.
In one of my Twitter expeditions, I stumbled upon Anthill Magazine from Australia 'where ideas and business meet' is their tagline.
One article caught my eye instantly Disconnect online to reconnect in life (November 30) by Nigel Malone.
He starts by quoting a 1970s by Harry Chapin called Cat’s in the Cradle that tells the story
of a father who misses many of the best moments of his growing son’s
life, because he’s too busy working.
I actually discovered when linking to the song on Last FM (above) that "Harry Chapin based the song on a poem written by his wife Sandy about her neglectful father. Sandy showed it to Harry as a warning when he was on the road too much and he made it into a song."
NIgel Malone who is taking his first vacation in 4 years is afraid he might not be able to disconnect and really be present for his wife.
This is the conundrum many of us face these days, being easily accessible to the outside world reduces the quality time we spend with friends and loved ones.
I don't think it has just to do with technology.
It can be a manifestation of an addiction to work.
You go away but you feel like trains cannot run on time if you don't check with the office on a daily basis.
Technology might just exacerbate these traits.
By the way, Nigel was sharing his thoughts with us on his first day of vacation (while his wife was sleeping).
His closing idea of 'cold spots' sounds quite interesting.
Once we suffer from enough 'connection' fatigue we might be ready to relish or even pay for 'cold spots' rather than 'hot spots' so we can really relax, spend quality time and come back recharged.
I remember going on hiking trips before GPS and cell phones and it was a real break from the daily rush.
Will we soon see vacation spots advertise their 'cold spot' status (no TV, no cell phones, no internet connection)?
Peggy Orenstein offers her take on same topic in Going Offline: Stop Your Search Engines (NY Times, Oct 23) and references Ulysses Unbound by Jon Elster (cover below).
On disconnecting, vacations and work addiction for Monday Work Etiquette # 118
Previously: Confessions, Failures and Presentations That Are Not Canned
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