For five days over spring break, five friends and I lived in a chalet nestled in the Chic Choc Mountains of Quebec. We had no internet, no cell phone service, and no television. We woke up no later than 6:30 every morning, ate breakfast, packed lunch for the day, went skiing, ate dinner, chatted, and went to bed by 10:00 each night. There were no ski resorts, no chairlifts, or ski lodges to keep us warm during the day.
We skied wherever our legs could take us, which, if you are willing, is just about anywhere. It was a simple lifestyle, to say the least -- one that is nearly impossible to find in 2016. Our lives are constantly filled with emails, text messages, computer screens, and schedules so tight it can sometimes be hard to find time even to breathe. While these technologies do provide us with productive and entertaining information, they take away something far more valuable: the authentic interactions we can have with the people around us.
Sure, we are still perfectly capable of having face-to-face interactions with each other, but when is the last time you used this type of interaction as your primary source of entertainment? When is the last time you relied on simple conversation, in person, to pass the time? For me, it was during those five days in the chalet. Amidst the good food, scenic hiking, and miles of untracked powder turns, I had some of the purest, and most entertaining conversations I have ever experienced.
Every night after dinner, we would reflect on the day of skiing, tell stories, jokes, and laugh until we had tears in our eyes. I don’t even know now what we laughed so heartily about. I’ve tried hard to pinpoint exactly what was so funny, but it doesn't come to me. What does that matter, though? Laughter is laughter, even if it is over nothing. I couldn’t tell you the last time such laughter was created by something I saw on Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram. This laughter I remember is not something that can be revisited or replayed; it is a memory that only the six of us will ever get to experience. That's what makes it so valuable.
As we spoke to each other each night, not once was someone distracted by the buzz or ring of a cell phone. Everybody was fully engaged, attentive, and present in each moment. This attentiveness caused something interesting to happen. We stopped caring about who was trying to text us or call us. We stopped worrying about the work we had to do at school or all the emails we were missing.
We were simply living in our every day. We spent a week doing what we love to do and nothing more, because we didn’t need anything more. There is no question that our dynamic way of life has allowed our society to prosper, but there is also no question that I hope to return the way of life that existed for us in that chalet. One with little worry, good company, and the opportunity for endless exploration.
