10 Things I did when Facebook/Insta/Threads were down this morning.

I danced, naked, in a wildlflowering meadow. I wrote a zine and boycotted The Man, just like we did back in the 1990s. Okay, okay…here’s 10 Things I (actually) did when Facebook/Insta/Threads were down this morning.

Sure: I use Facebook, IG, and Threads for my work at Elephant. Our work is to be of benefit. So yeah, the downage sucked…a little. But here’s 10 things I did while it was down that didn’t suck.

Doing less, or doing nothing—nothing as in fully, simply being present with our life, our world—is a healing, inspiring gift to our own minds and hearts. Gaps allow us to process, and give us room for spontaneous insight.

1. I watched a squirrel jump from a little branch to another little branch, bouncing, so that it could eat a little bud for a snack.
2. I played with my dog, Winnie. I tossed him tennis balls and we hosted two puppy play dates with friends of his.
3. I drank tea.
4. I read some good journalism. Journalism as opposed to social media potshots. I read an article about ceasefire negotiations, about DEI and a local election, about everyday cycling, about climate-change-encouraged wildfires burning millions of animals, about the WNBA, about historic preservation and affordability working together.
5. I talked with my mom.
6. I talked with my loved one.
7. I talked with a friend.
8. I did the basics: dishes, made climate-endangered good dark coffee in compostable packaging, and hung up some organic curtains I’d bought secondhand (off Facebook Marketplace..!).
9. I biked to lunch at my favorite veg spot.
10. I enjoyed life, unfiltered, away from the constant push to monetize my attention.

Attention is love. Let us create more real love in this world, by giving our attention to things that matter.