“What an eye opening experience,” is the thought that went through my mind. I have read about it, I’ve seen it, and I have written about it. But I recently experienced it at a new level. “What is that?” you are wondering. Having my cell phone off.
You see, my wife and I were recently out of the country and my cell phone didn’t have any service. Oh, I could have purchased some kind of an international plan for a week, but it didn’t seem necessary. And besides, I thought it would be nice to be detached from it for a few days. This first 24 hours were the most interesting. Every time I felt the slightest vibration, I reached for my pocket with the phone in it. I continually reached for my phone thinking I had better check e-mail or perhaps Facebook. But it was turned off.
Finally, I took the phone out of my pocket and locked it up in the hotel safe – I mean, after all, I had no service so I shouldn’t be needing it. For the next 24 hours my pocket felt empty and I would have brief moments of panic, thinking I had lost or misplaced my phone. I couldn’t believe what I slave I had become to that electronic device.
By the time 72 hours had gone by, I no longer was driven to find and check the phone. I was FREE. Free to enjoy my vacation, free to focus on my wife, free to relax – completely relax. And oh how wonderful it was. It was a terrific experience that I can’t wait to replicate. Of course, now that I am back home and in the daily routines, the phone is reattached in its regular place – reattached in my pocket, and more significantly, reattached in my psyche.
But I realized that it is not necessary for me to leave the country to have this experience. I can have it here. I can set aside times to leave the phone in the other room, times with my wife, my family, my friends, when I say – “You are more important right now in this moment and I am declaring that by not having my phone on or anywhere near by.” Today’s tip – put the phone away and reconnect with real people in the moment. Make them the priority.