There is nothing like time spent away from a connection to the internet to teach us how much a part of life it has become. This was brought home to me this past week when I was away on vacation. It was wonderful to spend time in the beauty and quiet of the natural world. I loved hiking in the woods and spending time with a good book, but I must confess that a part of me missed the instant connection to the cyber world. I had the vague feeling that I was missing something.

They say that we are creatures of our time, and I guess that this is really true. Growing up I remember how much my parents loved the daily newspaper and the radio as their source of connection to the world. Now it is a cell phone, texting, Facebook, and Twitter that keep us in touch. In my world news travels really quickly, and it goes by and disappears into oblivion equally as fast. Sometimes it all happens so quickly that it is like the passing blur of a speeding train.

So where do we find the time to process what is happening and be with our own thoughts? How do we take the time to really understand what is going on in ourselves and in the world? That is the gift that we only receive if we step back and give ourselves the time and space to make internal connections. We need some quiet time to enjoy how much our own thoughts and experience have to contribute to our personal take on life in this world. Perhaps that is what vacations really provide for us. We go away to slow down. We get a chance to see how lovely our world really is, and we take a little time to catch up with ourselves so that we can come back and rejoin the warp speed of daily living.