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How to have a Secular Sabbath
Having a day of rest ought to be straightforward. Turn off your mobile phone, stay away from the computer, ignore the TV, and settle back with a good book or a conversation with friends.
Sounds simple, right? Clearly this could make for a more relaxing and less hectic, free of work and constant email or voicemail checking. But then the questions begin. Should I drive in my car? How about cooking a nice lunch? How long should the sabbath last? What if I have a really great idea for work?
The principle behind having a Secular Sabbath is not to make life impossible or annoying - it’s to help you have a single day where you don’t do any work at all, where you have time to unwind and just think. There are answers to these questions, but ultimately, you have to draw the lines yourself. We do have some suggestions though…
- Consider inviting friends over for a monthly “secular Sabbath” - no TV, phones, computers, just chat, walks and good food
- Don’t try to overplan the event or put on a wonderful meal - preparation in advance is fine, but the idea is not to do any work during the Sabbath.
- Think about where you could visit or walk to nearby; maybe you could go to the park for a walk or play frisbee. Anything much more advanced, such as driving or public transport, can easily begin to feel aggravating and like work!
- Even if you don’t have any friends who live nearby or can come along, doing this on your own or with just one other friend can work well - read a good book, or just chat
- More coming soon!
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- Scribe on How to have a Secular Sabbath
- Matthew Knight on Welcome to Secular Sabbath!
Very interesting talk last weekend, thanks guys. Liking the idea, reminds me of Adbuster’s Mental Detox Week*, and have been thinking about generally taking more of a “break” from tech.
Questions…
- Have you tried it again? Does the “atmosphere” change as you get used to it?
- Do you find it has “momentum”, like you don’t use technology so much during the following day, or the following week?
- Most importantly, are you allowed to use cameras? Electronic cameras are out, I’d guess, but what about good old-fashioned film ones with manual shutters? What about old TLRs without batteries? Or is photography generally against the “ethos”?
See, too many questions already. I should really stop that. Will be interested to see how you get on :)
* http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/mental_detox_week