What Comes After the Disconnect?
As we drove over Rabbit Ears Pass on our last day, I felt it in my chest: I didn’t hike to my favorite waterfall thru my sanctuary. I didn’t make time to sit with the wildflowers – when they were in peak season.
The Matrix had pulled me in. And I missed the very medicine I came here for.
Is that why I really left Colorado? To escape the noise? To reclaim my peace?
Once I sat with this for a couple of days, I realized, I’d seen them. For 23 years. Like clockwork. So did I really need to see them again? Or was this just another matrix-contrived FOMO sensation?
From Reflection to Reclamation
I was raised by intellectuals — gifted the tools of self-reflection, intelligence, and a proclivity for the classics, but not quite with the reverence for going back to nature and solitude that now feels like my birthright.
If only I’d been a forester my whole life… but I have no regrets.
And maybe… this is my second life. The intentional one. The one where I say:
Enough screens. Enough shallow dopamine hits.
I want depth. I want wildness. I want craft.
Practices of a Digital Minimalist
From Cal Newport’s final chapters and bonus YouTube deep dives, here’s what stuck — and what I’m bringing forward:
✅ Reclaim your leisure
- Use your hands: build, tinker, garden, repair.
- Schedule demanding leisure instead of numbing out.
- Read before bed.
- Strategize your free time seasonally.
✅ Join the attention resistance
- Delete social media from your phone (again and again if needed).
- Block distractions with apps like Freedom (downloaded ✅).
- Track what distracts you daily. Then eliminate it.
✅ Use social media like a pro
- Shoot for less than one hour a week.
- Don’t use it for news, entertainment, or colleague connections.
- Curate your feed for values-aligned inspiration only.
- Stories are not your friends. They’re reality TV with a false intimacy.
- Respect Dunbar’s number: 150 meaningful relationships max.
This Is the New Paradigm
The Red Pill isn’t just about exiting the Matrix anymore.
It’s about entering the truth of your own rhythm, joy, and presence.
✨ Coming Soon:
A slow, sacred re-entry — with blog posts, email musings, and tools for those walking this path with me.
JOIN US for the next Healthy Living Reset – every 2nd Monday for a 10-day focus on health! Learn more here
This is part 4 of a 4-part series and if you missed 1-3, or the intro to Why I chose a Detox, you can view those blog posts here
