“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
Anne Lamott

A couple years back, I wrote a blog called Out of Office, about the all-too common struggle of disconnecting from technology. I wrote that blog just as my family and I were getting ready to take a no-internet-available family vacation, and I remember just how frazzled I felt before our flight out of town, as if even the thought of unplugging was an impossible one.

While that feeling hasn’t quite left me, sad to say, I do acknowledge how far we’ve come. From email signatures that clearly state working hours to Twitter sign offs en masse, it seems the message is finally getting through: Technology is no match for humanity, and staying plugged in doesn’t always result in positive outcomes.

As I write this Thanksgiving week 2022 reflection, I’m thinking about how many times—in between meetings, in grocery store lines, or while getting a few quiet minutes of rest— I’ve pulled out my phone to see what’s happening—as if I need a social media app to help me answer that question.

The reality is: life in its fullest form is happening right in front of us. Not on a screen, or a social platform, but in the lowest of low-tech moments. Life happens while holding hands with a loved one, while taking a walk with a friend, while chatting in the grocery store line, or while checking in on a neighbor. It’s those moments that remind us what really matters: each other.

The unplugged moments, it really does seem, are always the most precious.

So, for the rest of this week, I’ll be going offline and hope you can in some form or fashion too. Who knows. We may find that we’re better for it.