moving away from the screen

 via

this morning my neck aches after staying up until eleven working on online training. a physical reminder that our bodies aren't meant for sitting still for very long, much less for sitting cross-legged in a dimly lit living room staring into a glowing screen mere inches away while the dog is rolled up beside you and your husband flips through the channels.

when nanno passed away, the one thing i told myself was this: in my effort to be more like him (an overachieving and overambitious attempt), i will do more. interact with this pretty world more. lie on more hills. take more long walks. stretch more in the mornings.

nanno grew up without a computer, or television for that matter. one time, his mama made him ride his bike all the way across town to deliver papers that would let his family leave sicily and return to america. weren't you tired? my mom asked. oh no, he responded. i was happy and excited to do it.

i want that motivation. one thing's for sure-i won't find it in front of a screen. i will search for it deep in the recesses of my favorite coffee shop, in that corner booth that's always empty at just the right time during my lunch break. i will search in the morning, when the rain has lifted and a cloud hangs over the garden like cotton candy. i'll search in the evening, when the field out back is sage green and glowing. or maybe in late afternoon, when every car that passes is filled with someone living out their story.

i'll search, and in the searching, i'll move. my joints will pop with the surprise of a new action. i'll be sore and it will be hard to get up some mornings. but i've got to do it. for my health, my sanity, and for nanno. for the uncanny belief that there's a world to be devoured, and it starts by looking up from the screen.