[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Now what do I do?’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ANGELICA L. PFLEIDER
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=”]
Friday, March 10, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
I WOKE up last Sunday to a stuffy and silent room.
Upon inspecting why that was so, I found my electric fan was not running. The “on” button was pressed though and it was plugged so that’s when I started to make the conclusion.
It was proven when I tried to switch on my light to no avail – it was an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. scheduled brownout by the National Power Grid.
A whole day of heat, a whole day of no internet or TV, a whole day of no electricity. When I reached for my phone, my only source of entertainment left, I was horrified to see that only one bar of battery was left. I knew this would not reach me halfway through the day. Now what could I do?
To my surprise I was able to do quite a lot that did not require electricity; chilling in the garden, playing with the dogs, finishing that book I was reading, biking, and actually interacting with my family.
The lack of electricity did not make my day dull and the breeze outside under the trees was quite refreshing.
With the advent of technology it seems we have become dependent on it. Cut off the wifi or turn off the aircon and everyone loses their minds. It’s as if life has no meaning if there is no technology or electricity. We forget that there is so much more to life than spending the day in your room binge watching something or updating your Facebook profile.
You can only glimpse the real beauty of the world if you actually go out and join it. You don’t need electricity or technology for that. You can be a little more of an optimist and look at power outages as a reminder of that.
We won’t die if we don’t have electricity for a day. Remember, our forefathers were quite fine without it./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
