[dc]S[/dc]tarting on Saturday, July 2nd, a group of friends and myself set out on Canoes floating down the Connecticut river in southern Vermont. We set up camp on an island in the middle of the river in the late afternoon and cooked dinner, drank some beers, swam, talked and laughed. We slept on the beach and cooked breakfast in the morning.

On the second day of floating, we passed a bald eagles nest.  One of them flew up the river over our flotilla of boats. It was the mother eagle, watching us to make sure we weren't coming anywhere near her nest.  I have never seen such a large bird. It was incredible.

What was missing from the trip? My iPhone, MacBookPro, and iPad.  For about 48 hours, I didn't look at a single shiny LCD screen, read one email, or snap one instagram photo. For most of the trip, I didn't even know what time it was. We all turned off our phones and left them behind.

Despite being just a brief respite from technology, I was left with a sense of calm and focus that I haven't felt in a while. I am still riding it right now.  Have you ever experienced this? Over the past few months, I have been checking my phone and email with a consistency that bordered on obsessiveness. This weekend, I learned that we need to declare our independence from technology every once in a while. By shutting everything off, you can quickly gain a deeper perspective that you will enjoy once everything comes back on.

Happy Independence Day.

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