My husband and I recently traveled to Connecticut and New Jersey for a whirlwind three days jammed packed with seeing three of our sons and their families.
I let it all go. E-mails went unanswered. Texts flooding my phone got no responses. I ordered nothing from Amazon. And I didn’t key into my Tasks app once. However, anxiety about my temporary inattention to my digital status plagued me.
While packing to fly back home, I knew I had a lot of “stuff” on my cell phone waiting for me to deal with.
And then “IT” happened.
And then “IT” continued happening.
You may be asking: What is “IT”?
The “IT” is my phone on zero percent power.
The “IT” is my phone not holding a charge.
Until I unlocked the door of my house hours later, my I phone was dead to me.
At first, I was flooded with frustration. I raged at my phone’s lack of response and was deluged by anxiety brought on by all the things left dangling and incomplete – due to my inability to access my phone.
However, by the time I boarded the plane to fly back home, common sense kicked-in. For whatever reason – faulty charger, phone dysfunction, unresponsive internet – my cell phone was not accessible and I had to deal with that.
Our plane went airborne. I settled back into my seat. I spent the next three hours watching a very enjoyable movie, dozing off occasionally, peering out my window at the wondrous cloud formations we were traveling through, actually conversing with my husband and thoroughly enjoying the snacks Delta offered.
What was my Shocking Revelation?
Quite simply, my shocking revelation was realizing that it had been years since I had totally unplugged and luxuriated in the solitude that act presented to me. With a fully functional cell phone in my long skinny fingers, I was continuously utilizing its features: reviewing my to-do list, ordering birthday presents from Amazon, asking AI a large variety of inane inquiries, paying my bills, checking the weather, entering upcoming events into my calendar, ferreting out the newest jean jacket designs on Pinterest….. compulsively feeding into the mind-set to get more and more done as expediently as possible.
Without my cell phone operational, for the first time in years, I utterly relaxed – bending into the interval of solitude that flying without access to screen time presented to me.
As soon as my phone was operational, I searched the Internet for what is considered excessive screen time usage. I was dismayed to find many educators and psychologists insist more than two hours of daily use is detrimental to our well-being and can lead to eye strain, headaches, sleep disruption, anxiety, depression, musculoskeletal pain and reduced attention spans – to name just a smattering of issues!
I thought back to my flight. Every one of the passengers in my sight had been engrossed in either their phones or their computers. Just as I would have been. That could add up to a plethora of ailments and suffering.
I am now a believer.
I am now dedicated to caving out for myself a NO PHONE ZONE of time. I had forgotten the delicious feeling of letting everything go and embracing a reprieve to re-fuel. And relax.
I hope you will benefit from my “shocking revelation” and take some time to decompress away from your cell phone too. It’s the best way to:
Preserve Your Bloom,
A Spring Time Market at West Shore Mall Yacht Club
