Tuesday evening was proving to be a quite an uneventful time of day, until I was all at once disconnected from the technological world, all because of my clumsy nature. It all happened so quickly...I can barely recall the set of rapid motions that led to my phone's fatal destruction.
Long story short, my phone ended up at the bottom of the kitchen sink full of water, without a chance of survival. As my phone fell to its fate, my mind rushed with negative and disappointed thoughts of baring at least a week searching for a used phone to utilize, meanwhile sacrificing social media and communication with friends. The thought of having a few days spent without a phone seemed daunting at the time, but I quickly adapted to time unplugged from technology and gained some truly beneficial insight.
The first blessing that dawned on me, from the lack of a cellular device, was how quickly I was able to fall asleep at night. Without checking Instagram one last time and Snapping my friends goodnight, my eyes and brain were at ease, ready and willing to take on a full night's rest. And in return, the first thing I did in the mornings was not check my phone. I would wake up and read.
Without the temptation and ease of picking up my phone out of boredom, my book became my new muse. I was pleasantly surprised and a bit ashamed at how quickly I flew through the novel I was reading, because my phone was out of sight and out of mind. It felt good to focus on something beneficial to my mind and education by reading instead of texting.
Another educationally beneficial result of my short while without my phone was the knowledge I gained from listening to the news while driving. On my way to work early in the mornings, I had no phone to plug in to the auxiliary chord where I would have typically blasted the new Ariana Grande album. Instead, I made the choice to sip my coffee and drive to work while listening to NPR News, where I would gain more insight on the upcoming Presidential election and other important worldly topics.
Probably the most commonly heard, but absolutely truthful lesson that comes from time unplugged, away from the virtual world, is the importance and relevance of quality face-to-face time spent with friends and family. Without my face shoved in my phone at the dinner table, I was given opportunities to talk to my little brother about his excitement in regards to attending college soon, I learned that my mom and I shared the same favorite TV show, and gained insight on what my dad's been working on at the office.
The day came where my phone was replaced and I was immersed back into the world of social media and text messaging, but only slightly so. The time I spent learning, listening, and relaxing without my phone, surpassed my desire to check out what everyone had been posting on Twitter. Don't get me wrong...I do enjoy social media and I like having the luxury to check e-mails and make plans with friends so easily and quickly. However, I am going to take the lessons I have learned this week and apply them to my everyday life, by putting my phone away for a good while each day, so that I may truly appreciate the environment and nature that is surrounding me at any place and point in time.
