Logging Off to Let the Light In

“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

–Leonard Cohen, selected poems, 1956-1968

In three years, I’ve lost my Mom, transitioned to my full-time faculty dream job at Wake Tech, and published three books. Then 2020 hit.

Like all of us, I’m tired. I need sabbath: stepping out of what is now “ordinary” COVID time–a stressful, screen-filled heightened state of alert. In other words, we are overloaded humans surviving and grieving amid a global pandemic.

I need to embrace offline social media time for turning inward for meaning-making, deep rest, rituals, and (virtual) community. I need to embrace offline time for my next two book projects, a Lent 2022 book with Chalice Press, as well as the my Louisville Institute grant-funded research work and service for my hometown of Dana, Indiana. I’m eager to update y’all on these projects in early 2021.

So, after three years of non-stop social media and online presence, it’s time to pause my Facebook, Insta, and Twitter for a month-long, end-of-year return to the basics: meditation, journaling, book-reading, writing, and of course–dancing. It’s time for me to log off to let the light in.

This social media break is full of privilege: many of my fellow writers, journalists, and authors must remain “on” through 2020–sharing their articles, books, and timely arguments on news angles. Their work depends on it and I’m grateful for their dedication to our craft. Please support them in their endeavors.

So, as I tell my students, “Don’t ghost me!” In other words, let’s still be friends. Stay tuned to my social media profiles for 2021 updates. I’m way too sensitive of an Enneagram 2 ENFJ approval junkie to lose you.

And, if you’re still reading this, here’s my end-of-2020 survival guide. Need to get in touch? Email me at dana@jdanatrent.com

See y’all on social media in 2021,

dana