Visiting an Apple Farm in New York
Hudson, New York
Hello, my name is Matt. And I’m an addict. An Internet addict. The first step is admitting you have a problem right? The next step is seeking treatment…
If you’re addicted to the online world like I am, you’re in luck. I want to share with you one weird trick that should help. It’s so simple, you’ll be shocked how you didn’t think of it before!
Just take one day offline & call me in the morning.
I know, it sounds pretty scary. I thought so too. We feel this need to share our lives every second of the day. It’s just so easy with a smartphone in our pockets!
What happens when you get a Facebook message and can’t respond in 60 seconds? How could you possibly handle missing all those Snapchat stories when they disappear forever, never to be seen again? Your life will surely be over!
Well I’m here to tell you that’s just not the case.
He Doesn’t Look Amused…
Farm Life
Living In The Moment
When Cathay Pacific Airways & Mashable invited me to upstate New York earlier this month to be a guinea pig for this radical new online addiction treatment, I reluctantly agreed.
You know you’ve hit rock bottom when the internet goes out and you immediately run into the streets begging random strangers for their wifi passwords. “Just 5 minutes!” you plead, a look of desperation in your eyes.
But 5 minutes is never enough.
At this point I’d try anything, including jumping on a plane to NYC and squeezing into a bus full of fellow online addicts from around the world.
We arrived in upstate New York at a specialized “treatment center” cleverly disguised as an apple farm surrounded by trees painted with red, orange, and yellow autumn hues.
The plan? To give up our cellphones & laptops for a full day. To disconnect from our online addictions and live in the moment for a change.
A digital detox & internet intervention.
More Fun Than Snapchat
Let’s Press Some Cider!
Picking Apples & Making Cider
However there would be work involved too. We were sent into an organic, pesticide free orchard to pick as many apples as we could. I’m pretty sure I ate more apples than I picked! They were crispy, juicy, and delicious.
The horses nearby were jealous of our apples, so we gave them a bite too.
Next we loaded our haul onto the back of some pickup trucks and drove to a beautiful farmhouse overlooking the Hudson River, where we learned how to cold-press the apples into fresh cider.
Laying picnic blankets in the sun, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor and chatted with each other over lunch. There may have been some fishing, manure shoveling, bubble blowing, kickball, hiking, yoga, and hula hoops too.
I kept reaching for my non-existent phone to share everything with you online as it was happening, but alas, it just wasn’t possible. However I wasn’t shaking with withdrawal symptoms anymore.
This incredible new treatment was working!
Evening At the Farm
Swing Your Partner Do-Si-Do!
Disconnect To Reconnect
In the evening we gathered again for dinner and country dancing along with live music in an old barn. Sitting around a large bonfire outside and roasting smores for dessert.
We made new friends by engaging in actual conversation rather than typing away at our smartphones. We laughed, told stories, shared ideas, and focused on each other.
Spending #OneDayOffline at an apple farm in New York with this great group of addicts friends reminded me that we need to take these kinds of digital sabbaticals more often.
It’s so important to disconnect from the online world from time to time. To recharge & reconnect with the world around us without distractions.
Think of it as a short vacation. Just like a regular vacation, you come back feeling refreshed, relaxed, and ready to take on the challenges of this epic adventure we call life.
Need some inspiration for planning your own digital detox?
Go check out OneDayOffline.com
READ NEXT: Trekking Greenland’s Arctic Circle Trail
Are you addicted? How would you spend one day offline?
This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.
from Expert Vagabond http://ift.tt/1LJgv95
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