The other day I went into the office and left my phone at home. I’ve never been one of those people who are glued to the phone – in fact, I was the last of my friends to even get a cel phone, and by far the last one to text – but eventually I gave in to both and made the most of it. Still, I prefer to go without than be bound to any technological crutch. I also tend to enjoy time alone and unbothered, so any excuse not to answer to texts or e-mails or calls is a blessing.
At first I did find myself reaching for the phone – out of habit – to check texts and e-mail, to see what people were posting on social media – but that only happened once. In its absence I soon felt a welcome respite of joy – the relief and release of not having easy access to FaceBook or Twitter or Instagram – and being separated from the social media world was a boon, particularly when at the office. That’s when something I realized only when it wasn’t instantly accessible, and it illuminated how reliant I’d become upon the phone as a way of escaping from the present moment. That’s not a good thing, at least not for me, and being mindful of the present moment is an integral piece of meditation that only seeps into the rest of life if you make the effort to let it.
On my lunch, instead of scrolling through everything I’d missed, head-down and oblivious to the world around me, I strolled through downtown Albany and could focus on every place and person I happened upon. The habitual nudge to document it with a few photos, or to stop and respond to someone’s text, was still with me, but the notion of FOMO, usually an accompaniment of being out of touch, had subsided. It reminded me of lunches long ago, before I even had a cel phone, when I would be fully present and invested in the world around me. Life felt simpler then because it was simpler. We survived and went about our lives just as contentedly, if not more-so, than today, when we can be in touch with everyone at a moment’s touch of the screen. It was a healthy reminder for me to step away from the phone, to step away from social media, and to step back into the beautiful real world all around me.
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