Social Sabbatical

I’ve had a social media sabbatical. And it’s the best thing ever! I'm 99% positive you will say the same too.

As we finished unpacking from the most beautiful, recharging weekend camping down the coast by the river with the girls and doggo, feet still dirty from the weekend of barefoot adventures, I walked back to the car for the last load to bring in, looking up at the stars realizing I can't see the milky way. Some stars sure, but not the distinct milkyness of it that we had enjoyed for the past few nights…

My sabbatical… It was quite unintentional at first. I just decided to take a little break for my last swing fifo. I was overwhelmed and just wanted to be more present in the desert, and with Sammy, while we were working together.

And that carried on while we moved house and continued while I started too deep dive into fixing my hormones.

And now it’s been 4 months.

And to be honest, I have enjoyed my sabbatical so much I just keep extending it. If I didn't feel called to share so much of what I have been learning lately, I'm not sure I would be jumping back on this weird little app called instagram…

But, I have lots to say and share so here I am….

Anyone who goes camping knows the disconnect from everyday life and technology is the best part, although miss 10 and miss almost 12 maybe not so much (and they dont even have phones yet ~ thats a topic for another day~)

We had the most amazing adventures, think 4 of us plus the dog in a canoe, hired a boat, explored the river and pulled on a mini island beach to swim in the crystal clear water, lots of fishing and just relaxing on a rug watching the changing tide wondering if the fish are biting, with a coffee or vino depending on the time of course. Bliss!

Stargazing next to the river overlooking the mountains you could just make out in the distance sure makes you realize how much we miss thanks to looking at technology. Loads of shooting stars, moving stars, as Sammy and I like to call the oddly flying things we see (you get used to seeing them working nightshifts in the desert, constellations and even a shooting star with a colored tail that went on forever.

All things we miss when we are distracted.

And the benefits of my sabbatical to this trip… I didn't feel the need to document it for anyone except us and some token photos for our own. I didn't feel the need to show up, look a certain way or be “presentable”. Something I feel social media has ingrained in us, that everything has to look perfect, or cohesive, or clean…

Sammy told me I looked beautiful multiple times ~ bless him ~ and it sure wasn't cause my hair was brushed ~ it wasnt ~ or that I had put any effort into my appearance, because I hadnt. Im sure it was because I was relaxed, and just enjoying being present. Even if camping with kids and a dog means the relaxing only ever lasts so long before someone gets a snag with their fishing rod or tangled in their lead.

A lovely little family were fishing near us, and the lady commented on our camp chairs that Sammy had bought before we were together, as they do look nice. And they are pretty comfy to sit in too. Sammy went on to inform her they arent great for the little kids, and the girls has fallen off them when they were younger, to her reply, yes, but they look so nice! I thought they would have been some fancy instagram brand!

Well turns out they arent that cheap, but if you are after some fancy looking,comfy enough camp chairs that are perfect for the ‘gram, not so much for little kids they are on sale here…

Full transparency, we may just get another, as if you know me, you know I really do like aesthetically pleasing things that match or go together, especially if they are the more eco friendly option. And we currently only have three of them, and the thought of having 3 and then a completely different sort of chair even if its just while camping makes me feel alittle unseasy. giggles to myself, about how contradictory I can be. At this point I just embrace it

This conversation with our camp neighbors got me thinking about how we now live in a society that prefers looks, brands or instagramable-ness over functionality, longevity or price and the environment.

That and Sammy and my conversation about how our Yetti esky sure looks cool, but doesnt hold ice as many days as some of the less “cool” ones. I personally know the blue ones keep ice for 3 days, but their fiberglass one looks so cool and they say it keeps it for 7. I know what one we will be getting when our Yetti retires. But we have our Yetti now, and it keeps my wine plenty cool enough for our camping trips, so I cant complain with that.

How does this tie into my social media sabbatical? I'm sure you are wondering at this point….

Well when you step back from the socials and the constant flow of newness, ads that pretend they are posts not photoshoots, every influencer and their dog looking perfectly curated picking up their iced matcha. Every pantry, house and bedroom looking like a showroom and kmart dropping new homewares every week. Throw in a few influencer hauls and 3 new skin fixes you didn't know you needed. Its pretty freaking easy to get lost in what you actually want or need in your life.

While we were picking up our new ~second hand~ tent, I was telling Sam about the book I have been reading and a little story I have been writing to share it with the girls in a way they will understand. Maybe I will share that story here sometime, we will see how it lands with them first.

He has asked if I agree that maybe we just feel like everyone is always living their best life 100% of the time, because you may see 10 people you know, or don't know, on holidays, camping, eating out, at the beach etc etc etc in a row. To which I completely agree, and brings me back to my story for the girls.

See humans haven't biologically evolved much since we were cavemen, culturally we have evolved much more rapidly, but our basic instincts and fundamental genetics are still relatively the same.

Way back then we lived in tribes and while I'm sure I am simplifying this, we may have only ever seen 100 people. In a lifetime. Now we see 100 people at school drop off, or any time we go to a mall. And God knows how many people we see on social media each time we open the apps.

Our brains aren't cut out for this sort of thing, this bombardment of ads, faces and things available to us at any given second.

I realised ~pretty early into this sabbatial~ that its was so nice to decide I needed something based on an actual need in my life ~ a first world need that is ~ not because I had seen something online that made me want it.

The first one was active wear, I wear it most days, and realised that I actually only have two pairs of tights I find comfy and enjoy wearing. But its getting warmer here now so that one can wait… I did decide to get this set, that is so insanely comfy im going back for a second colour, I havnt taken them off except to wash them yet.

If you are going to purchase things that can be considered fast fashion, please be a conscious consumer about it and make sure it wont end up in land fill next season…

The second… Well I got influenced the old fashion way..

I'm hearing that in Nicoles Richies voice “I met my husband the old fashion way… At the club”

We were enjoying our nutritious and delicious burgers and slushies (mine was margarita, of course) at Dreamworld and the lady on the table next to us had the most beautiful western print linen shirt on. I didnt think much of it at the time, but loved it.

I was thinking about it for days, finally found it after alot of online searching, from a brand I haven't heard of, had to go on the wait list. And eventually it was mine, along with the matching shorts! In hindsight I should have just complimented her, the way she wore it, and asked her where she got it. Who doesnt love a genuine compliment from a random?

I'll take beautiful custom print linen that I kept thinking about from a local brand that makes me happy, cares about the environment and fits my personality and style perfectly over fast generic fashion anyday.

I'm going to keep this short from here on, and deep dive into these points in the next post. But here are my takeaways from this social media sabbatical.

Over consumption. We consume so much more than we need, in every sense.

Influencer culture. We have always had it, but now we get it from people we have never met, who get paid to tell us what we need.

Perfect Life Fomo. Is everyone living their best life? Or did we just see 10 highlight reels in a row?

Photos. Yep! You will still want to take photos, just for the memories, and you will enjoy them even more because they will be real, not perfect.

Being present. You notice the little things, the little moments, and how many little things you usually miss

Conscious Purchasing. You will consume more consciously because you buy what you want and need, not what is trending, going viral or looks cool on someone else's feed

Level up selfceare and style. I have really dived into my style and my selfcare. How I want to present myself to the world, and what my skin/body/hair actually likes, not what works for someone else

Opinions don't matter. I remembered I actually don’t care what other people think. And Im going to start showing up more like me, in real life and online. I dont care what a random person on the street things of my existence, as long as im a good human. So Im bringing that here too.

My screen time tally on my phone scares me. And thats without facebook or instagram. Don't look into how much of our life we spend on our phones. Or do… Then go camping. Without social media.

Bonus points if you wath the Social Dilemma before you go

Much love,