This past week, I have been without a laptop. My old faithful Dell (her name was Gertrude Von Winklehoffen for those who wish to know) finally gave up the ghost and refused to open anything even remotely useful. Initially, I was distraught, devastated, inconsolable even, but Gertrude's demise turned out not to be the worst thing that's ever happened to me... Who knew?
Not having a laptop made me go out and DO things rather than sitting in my friend's flat (my move out and in dates were a fortnight apart) watching innumerable episodes of American dramas and sitcoms and eating whatever I could be bothered to nip to the nearest Tesco for (for the record, usually a chicken caesar wrap and a bottle of diet coke). I had lunch, coffee and dinner with friends who I'd been meaning to spend quality time with for weeks. I finished Lady Chatterley's Lover, went to a local coffee shop, curled up on a sofa and launched into Orwell's '1984'. I fell in love with reading again, and found solace and relaxation in my own company. I made more time to phone my mum, and made time for friends who needed me. I baked a tray of brownies with a recipe from memory, and I stopped putting off getting ready for things just to finish whatever episode of something I was watching. I got more fresh air, and I remembered how nice it is just to sit and talk about nothing for hours. When I felt like torturing myself with items of clothing that I couldn't afford, I actually went out and wandered through shops, aimlessly, dismissing the more ridiculous "fashion" items and picking up dresses that I knew I wouldn't buy.
Admittedly, I wasn't completely removed from the technological world, I still had my trusty Blackberry and so I still had access to Facebook and Twitter but nonetheless, I found myself checking them less often, using them as a crutch less and less, not constantly needing to know what was going on in the lives of my acquaintances. The lives of my close friends, I was already aware of BECAUSE I'D SPOKEN TO THEM IN PERSON and it was wonderful. Those important to me had taken on a more important role in my life, they became everything that my laptop had ceased to provide: gossip, comfort, entertainment only they were real. My friends became the reason that I laughed and cried and their lives became my very own sitcom, my own drama. Meeting new friends was like the first episode of a new season, and losing old ones became a season finale (only without the plane crashes/deaths etc).
What I'm trying to say I suppose, it in a world where TV and the internet are so prevalent and play such a big part in our lives, perhaps our parents were right (man, I hate saying that). Far from having too little and needing more, perhaps we've amassed too much. I have been happier this past couple of weeks than I can remember being in a long time, I've been deliriously happy, even at work. Rather than having Adele and Kelly Clarkson going round in my head, I've had Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Family Guy even. I have remembered what it is to really be a friend and not just a faceless response to a text or tweet. I have remembered the comfort that comes from an actual hug, not just "*hug*" on instant messenger. I have remembered that companionable silence with a loved one is infinitely more comforting than banal conversations with customers, made just to hear the sound of one's own voice.
So yes, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm beginning to believe that less is more, and that having so much is making us miserable. Of course I can't speak for every person in the world, but for me personally, I am not ready to dismiss the happiness I'm finding in other people and myself to watch more TV or lie in bed watching movies for hours on end. I've no doubt that I'll still have down days, and days where I decide to veg out in bed with a pile of DVDs, but I'd like to think that on my bad days, I'll make a phone call, or have a coffee with someone and that when i want to watch a film, I'll invite some friends round. In essence, I've rediscovered what it is to be a social being. Infants need society to develop, and adults need society to stay balanced. I've started finding my balance again, and if I had one bit of advice to give right now, it would be to power down the computer, leave the telly off, switch off the smartphone and relearn what it is to experience life away from technology and realise that, even in your own company, it is infinitely better than watching another episode of that sitcom you like.
