I'm Back

I'm sorry, dear readers, for the blogging hiatus. Sometimes this happens because I don't think I have anything to write. In this case, I also have the excuse of technological difficulties. Several keys on my computer stopped working a week ago, and it's been in the shop since then. When I discovered the malfunction and realized that it would prevent me from logging into my computer, I have to confess I almost had a small panic attack--or maybe a small temper tantrum would be a better way of putting it. My computer easily becomes my substitute for human contact. It allows me to contact friends at home, but it also allows me to watch a great deal of television, to get lost in fictional worlds when I feel lonely in this world. The idea of being deprived of that distraction was frustrating, but it was also terrifying for a while. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that, because I've always thought that technology shouldn't be such an important element of my life. Nevertheless, it's true.

Needless to say, being deprived of my computer for a week was actually a valuable experience. I spent a lot more time reading and focused on using my days productively. I could borrow my husband's computer in the evening (which I did, to watch the Olympics), but my sources of entertainment during the day were limited, and I had to enjoy the quiet order of my life without television and without the opportunity to check Facebook every half hour. I was a little sad to have it returned from the repair shop, because I got so much done without it. I made headway in philosophical reading, which I often neglect, finishing Kierkegaard's Works of Love for my book group and starting Alisdair McIntyre's After Virtue, which I've wanted to read for some years. I re-read all 1000 pages of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which everyone should read because it's wonderful. I played around with ideas for a fantasy novel and forced myself to write some instead of getting frustrated and giving up. I had devotions every day and continued to work out regularly. It was a truly valuable time.
Now that my recalcitrant computer has returned, chastened, I'm trying to maintain that balance by discipline rather than by absence, focusing on finishing work before enjoying the Olympics or television. I'm able to do more work--review vocabulary for my languages and continue my GRE studies. And I'm able to write to all of you. A computer is a wonderful thing! But I don't want it to control my life. I want to keep fighting that influence, to order my life by what is healthiest, rather than by what is easiest and most entertaining.
I have a couple of other thoughts and posts to share with you this week, so hopefully you'll hear from me soon.

Blessings,
Sarah