Getting away from it all is hard. We imagine our lives would be very different if we didn't keep up. Right now, everything in life seems important enough that it requires constant monitoring. The barrage of social media updates and critical texts demand our focus. The communication channels sing their siren song that we are missing out on something important. We can't feel or don't let ourselves feel success unless we check-in to our lives.

However, what happens if we check-out? What if we turn off, turn down and delay what only seems important? What happens when we pay attention to the physical and real life around us?

This last week, I went far away. I turned off my phone, didn't look in and didn't catch up on anything. I ate a lot of shaved ice and played with my kids. At the end of my life when I look back on that week, I would label it a success. It is funny how in this ever constant world of now, checking-out turned into something so satisfying.