UNPLUGGED

I took this weekend off from blogging. That almost never happens. If you read My 1st Blogiversary + 10 Things I Learned in my First Year of Blogging post, you’ll know that I’m pretty diligent about my twice weekly blogging schedule, which usually includes a post mid-week and one on the weekend. Well this weekend, despite my best efforts, I simply couldn’t get a post up before we left on Friday for a wedding in Saskatoon. As I ploughed through a very busy week and the weekend drew closer, I decided that what I really needed — more than rushing to get prewritten content ready to publish for a weekend that I was going to be out of town, was to completely unplug.

UNPLUGGED

I’ve skipped a blog post twice now since I first started JustineCelina on April 2nd, 2015. Last summer, one of my best friends got married in a remote location in the Kootenays, and I took some time off at Christmas to reconnect with friends and family. I guess this past weekends post is this one you’re reading now, on Monday. It’s pretty sobering to realize that it takes a significant event for me to unplug.

Honestly, it was so refreshing to not even bring my laptop with me (seriously, that is unheard of) and completely turn off all of my social notifications. I absolutely love what I do and don’t consider it work at all, which is probably why it ends up being so consuming! In starting JustineCelina, the lines between work and life have become even more blurred than they were before — that was actually one of my intentions (read more about why I started blogging in the first place here). But, with those blurred lines comes a need to set new boundaries in my life. Truthfully, I’m always working — whether it be on the blog or on other projects. It took a totally unplugged weekend away to come back with a new perspective and realize how much I needed it.

This weekend, I was able to be fully present and to enjoy time with family and friends without distraction. I wasn’t daydreaming about my next blog post or focused on collecting content, I was just living and enjoying the small, simple pleasures in life — rather than focusing on capturing them. Not ironically, after turning off my social notifications for the weekend, I feel more connected to those around me. I need to do a better job at remembering that although consistency is important in producing great creative work, so is taking time to unplug, recharge and reconnect. That’s a new goal I’m setting for myself.

As I came back to my blog this morning with fresh eyes and a fresh mindset, I felt inspired to share this post. Guess what? There are no photos. I didn’t even bring my Canon this weekend and I can’t tell you how freeing that was. Is the world going to end? Nope. Were there a million beautiful moments I could have taken photos of and shared with you? Of course. The featured image up top is actually a photo I took at Kootenay Lake last summer.

Although I love capturing images and am a visual storyteller by profession, I truly believe that some things in life should remain private. The most personal moments of my life (happy, as well as unhappy) will never make the pages of this blog, or my social feeds — and I believe that’s the way it should be. Despite blogging, I’m actually a very private person and am always respectful of the privacy of others in my life. Quiet moments and reconnection were needed this weekend. Cameras and social media were not.

Regardless of this being a photoless post, I hope you enjoyed these reflective, non-visual musings that I know are equally as important as all the others I share here at JustineCelina.

When was the last time you totally unplugged?