So it has been a little over a month since I have gotten rid of my AT&T data plan for my cell phone. Here is my update on what my life has been like since its departure.
There are times that I have nothing to do and I am forced to do the absolutely frightening thing and sit in stilllessness with myself. No emails to check, no drudgereport to peruse. Only myself, plain ole me.
I wonder if as a people we don’t really like ourselves. I mean, ever moment we are trying to get away from ourselves. We constantly are wanting distractions by means of music, movies, tv, email and books. Seriously, If I treated my wife like I treat myself, she would have divorced me years ago. Maybe the pertinent question is, have we divorced ourselves? Have I divorced myself?
There is much encouragement to spend a “date night” with your spouse, to encourage conversation, engagement and time for relational growth together. But can I ask, when was the last time you took 30 minutes of silence and solitude and listened to the thoughts, feelings and emotions that are running through your head.
So the disconnection I now feel in regards to my phone has been a reawakening of how much I fill my extra time with technological noise. There were times when I am waiting for my haircut where I am actually fidgeting with my phone like a crack addict, hoping for something to pop across the screen to entertain, to sooth the pain of the silence. When the silence becomes too overwhelming I crack and pull out a game of Solitaire, again filling my mind with some sort of noise.
How much time do you spend alone with your thoughts, please take the informal poll below, I would find the results interesting?
I encourage you, take a walk and unpack the clog of thoughts. Heck, even take yourself on a date… you deserve it.
December 3, 2008 at 11:56 am
whoever put 2+ hours is lying or a monk or jobless or as good as or single or famililess or as good as or uber spiritual and deserves to be on Oprah as the next Depak Chopra. 😉
December 3, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Or maybe even a lying jobless monk…
December 3, 2008 at 1:46 pm
lol. now that is funny stuff.
December 4, 2008 at 2:02 pm
it wasn’t me.
kevin
December 4, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Now that is funny.