What would we do without the Internet? I had to find out yesterday. The rain storm in California knocked out our phone line and the next day, we lost our DSL. For about 12 waking hours, I was without Internet.
Do you know what it’s like to be without your computer, water, a washing machine or something else that you take for granted? It requires a whole new mindset to get through the day. Oh sure, you could throw a fit, swear, blame everyone from the rain gods to the president, but that will only put you in a bad mood. Or you can do what you can to repair the problem and then change your attitude. How? Accept, Trust and Change. That’s my mantra when things in my life go temporarily awry—well, if I can calm down and relax enough to remember it.
It’s tough being without that lifeline to the Internet—well it is for me, anyway. Everything I attempted to do after our DSL went down was automatically thwarted because I didn’t have Internet access. Do you know how, when you’re without water (during a move or a plumbing project, for example) and you keep turning on the water faucets expecting water to flow out. It’s an automatic, conditioned action. You’re used to having water anytime you want it.
I use Internet access like water. It’s the lifeblood of my business. Mine is running all the time and I am constantly referring to a site, checking on a resource, contacting someone, conducting research, looking up something and, of course, checking my mail. I communicate with clients through email. I receive orders for books via email. SPAWN members and others with questions contact me regularly through email. This is also how I stay in touch with publishers, editors, writers’ conference organizers, Expedia (with regard to changes in airline reservations, etc.), colleagues and, sure, friends.
The Internet has become vital to my business. So, to be without it is a challenge that I don’t relish anymore than I would enjoy being without running water in my home. Yesterday, when we lost our DSL, I knew I had choices. I could complain and pout or I could find something else to do. After all, it was Saturday. People aren’t supposed to work on the weekend, anyway. At first, I tried working on projects that I thought wouldn’t rely on Internet access. In my office, there is no such animal, unless I wanted to do some filing… Nah!
And so it came to pass that I left my computer chair, turned out the light and closed the door to my office at 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon. That’s when I discovered that there is life outside of my office. I found all kinds of interesting things to do—things I used to do before I became a WRITE-a-holic. There were kitchen cabinets to organize (when you get new kitchen gadgets for Christmas, you have to re-organize in order to fit them in), and I’ve been getting requests for “some of that homemade bread we haven’t had in three years.†The cats and the African violets all need grooming, the furniture could use a polishing and what about that mending that’s been hanging around for months?
Hey, if this is life away from work, no wonder I choose work.
So what did I do with my free Saturday afternoon? I read a few magazines from my growing stack (some of them dated 2004) while trying out my new bubbling, heated, massage footbath (another Christmas gift, obviously from someone who doesn’t see me relax enough).
Are you prepared for the next time your Internet fails? What projects do you have pending outside the comfort zone of your home office? This is a good time to catch up on your most important reading, such as: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html And you’d better order it now, so you’ll be prepared when storms knock out your Internet connection. I don’t mean to frighten you, but you know it’s just a matter of time.
I have another book that might pique your interest. It’s a spiritual/metaphysical memoir. Quest For Truth, A Journey of the Soul is a fascinating account of my past-life regression and healing work with a hypnotherapist. http://www.matilijapress.com/questpage.html
An author or freelance writer without Internet is like a rider without a horse, a kitten with no one to pet her, a great photo opportunity and no camera in sight, a wonderful wall hanging without a wall to hang it on and a bunch of ingredients and no recipe to bring them together. But this temporary loss can be a blessing if you’ll just Accept, Trust and Change.