Get Your Ingalls On

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I am rereading Little House in the Big Woods this week. So it seems like a great time to get my Ingalls on.

Maybe you should, too.

No, I am not suggesting that you run around your yard batting a pig bladder. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about here, now would be a good time for you to reread Little House in the Big Woods.)

I am talking about harkening back to the days when only birds tweeted.

Technology has become such a huge part of our lives that we forget what it was like to live without it. If you are of a certain age, you can probably remember the first time you ever saw someone walking around outside while yammering on a cell phone. I know I do. It was in Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. Mind you, this is a HUGE wooded park with lots of quiet pathways. I remember seeing (and HEARING) this guy and thinking, Man, that is weird!

Turns out, that was nothing. These days I get to play “Psychotic or Bluetooth?” on every outing. (Let me tell you, psychos were SO much easier to spot back in the day.)

Trimming just a little technology from your week is a great way to make some prairie-sized space for creativity. For example, maybe you can cut email checking down to 4 times a day instead of 57. Or, go technology-free for just 30 minutes at a time. Simply turn off the phone, computer, ipod, tablet, and/or wii – pick whatever your particular poison happens to be. Hint: most of these devices have a useful button labeled POWER. Take back your power by pressing it to the off position once in a while.

If I’m not convincing you, then take a tip from your own technology. You know how you occasionally have to recharge the batteries on most of these gadgets? Well, make sure you’re regularly recharging your own, as well.

Don’t get me wrong – I love technology as much as anybody. I love antibiotics even more. So, no, I don’t pine too much for the days of the Big Woods. But while I’m on my merry march into the future, I try to make sure the best parts of that era don’t get lost along the way.

So if you’re game for getting your Ingalls on, there are lots of ways to play…

Get outside with the sunrise.

Grow something.

Have a picnic.

Sew a sampler. Never mind, Laura wasn't cracked up about that either.

Listen to a fiddle.

Bake some cornbread.

Write a letter… by hand (Gasp!)

Rest a spell.

And if you’ve got a pig bladder handy, well… you know what to do.

PROMPT: Try a little Little House and see what it does for that creative mind of yours. This week, I think I’ll dig around in my garden. I’ll also take time out to pet the draft horses in a nearby pasture. I might even bake a pie. But mostly I’ll just sit in a little piece of quiet and listen for the tweets.

The real kind.