Put Your Phone Down, And Start Living!

I was blessed to be born before the arrival of the Internet and smart phone technology. It was a time when kids were playing outside all day, and we often did not want to go home, because we were having too much fun. It was a time when people still connected with each other in person, and on a deeper level. It was a time when we lived life in a much simpler way.

Since then the rise of digital technology and the Internet seemed like it happened overnight, and everyone was instantly hooked, including myself! It was exciting, because information was now just a click away. Communication was faster and easier, and you could ‘connect’ with just about anyone, anywhere, anytime.

But then social media and smart phones came along, and before we realized what hit us, it began to gradually cripple our ability to focus, to truly connect, to be present in the moment, and to be in touch with our spiritual nature. To make matters worse, we started comparing our lives to others: friends, enemies and idols… only to diminish our sense of self-worth.

Last weekend, I was playing the board game Monopoly with my teenage son and his best friend. His friend seemed unable to put his phone down and pay attention to the game. I asked him why, and he said it was because he was addicted to knowing what others were doing, and that he didn’t want to feel “left out.”

The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I believe these modern mobile devices are being used to imprison our minds, and psychologically and spiritually keep us vibrating at a lower level. There are obviously plenty of positive reasons to have a mobile phone, but if you can’t go for more than an hour without checking your social media and text messages, then it may be time for an intervention.

Ask yourself if staring at your phone for hours at a time is really going to make your life so much better? Is your excessive daily screen time really improving the condition of your life, or giving energy to another? Start to think about all the things you could be doing or accomplishing by simply putting your phone down. What are your dreams? What’s on your bucket list? Who are the people who truly love you for just being you, instead of that filtered selfie on your profile?

Places don’t matter to people any more. Places aren’t the point. People are only ever half present where they are these days. They always have at least one foot in the great digital nowhere ~ Matt Haig

By reflecting on your purpose instead of everyone else’s posted opinions, you can tap into parts of our brain and body that are waiting to be explored and acknowledged. Open up a book, sit in nature, have a conversation face to face. Open up to beauty and true adventure that lies beyond the limitations of your mobile phone.