This weekend, thousands of people all over the world will be celebrating Earth Hour in an effort to make a global statement of concern about climate change.

The movement, which is led by the World Wildlife Fund, asks individuals, businesses, governments and organizations to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23.   You can learn more about ways to get involved with Earth Hour and spread the message.

There are folks out there who scoff at the idea that shutting off your lights for an hour really has much of an impact on climate change.  And who knows? Maybe they are right.

But I do know that every time my family has participated in Earth Hour, we learn something about ourselves.

For us, Earth Hour has become more than just sending a message that we need to be kinder to Earth.  For us, it’s about disconnecting from all of the electronic gadgets in our lives and reconnecting with each other.  And it’s not just good for the soul: Unplugging is good for the wallet, too.

In that one hour, we have time to appreciate the peaceful quiet.  We can share conversation.  We can play a board game.  In that time, we can prep next week’s dinner menu.  We can read a book or flip through a magazine.  We can go for a walk or just watch the birds from the window.

That hour may be sending a message about energy conservation, but for us, it is sending the message to slow down, appreciate the natural world around us, and to remember that actual relationships are more important than whose relationship status changed on Facebook.

Whether you want to celebrate Earth Hour is up to you, but regardless of what you decide, I hope you will make time to unplug this week and to appreciate all of the wonderful things there are in this world that don’t cost the world.