My phone broke ...

My phone broke a few weeks ago while we were in Dallas. I was trying to change the song I was listening to while working out when it just slipped from my hands to fall between the pedals of the elliptical machine. The guy at the Apple store called his buddies over to see the inside of an Iphone which apparently none of them had seen before.

I couldn’t get another phone while we were in Dallas so I was without a phone for about three days. It was very liberating in a lot of ways. I found myself checking email and reading NPR news a little too much where it was consuming too much of me. I enjoyed the lack of texting, answering email and checking Facebook updates constantly. It was a little bit of a hassle coordinating with my husband if he was picking me up but I managed. It was fun to be unplugged. It’s only when I got back to Denver that I was getting a little worried about not having a phone; what if the kids fell at school, what if someone called, what if I missed an email … and so on. I had to stop to think how absurd these thoughts and how much I’ve started to rely on this thing that never leaves my side anymore. Nevertheless I went and bought a new phone.

I feel that there’s a reason for everything and I honestly thought that my phone broke just to allow me the few days of being unplugged to calm my senses. I thought that until my new phone started acting up. I synced it to my computer where it jumbled up all my contacts; it may have someone name with someone else’s phone number and yet another’s email address. It also jumbled them up on my computer. The other thing that happened was that it totally messed up my calendar; it dropped a lot of appointments and added some upwards of 15 times. I found this part to be really annoying until I had to stop and think about why this happened.

I realized that I’ve been saying that I needed to clean up my contact list for a while. So guess what was handed to me after months of saying that. The part of the calendar being messed up was a little more challenging. I had to go out and buy a planner because the one on my phone was irritating me so much. I spent a couple of hours one afternoon inputting all my appointments and when I was done I realized the reason for all of it. It felt so good and grounding to be sitting down and writing. I realized that I hardly ever get the opportunity to write with a pencil and paper anymore. I thought about my uncle who is an author and how he hand writes all his articles and books on paper. I’m not even sure he owns a computer. Now I realize that it was another way to unplug me; it was moving me away from my phone and computer. I have really enjoyed having a planner for these past few days and I will probably keep one from now on.

It’s essential to feel that sense of calm and grounding. Although I start every day with a meditation, I still feel that by three o’clock in the afternoon my senses are a little off at times. The best days are when I get to do another meditation around that time. That hasn’t been the case lately though which is why I feel my phone with all its frustrations has helped me to get back to center again. Honestly, I don’t even enjoy texting and emailing, I find the phone call where I talk to a person on the other end to be much more gratifying. I love to hear a voice which allows me to get a sense of how someone is feeling because at the end of the day we are humans with emotions.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post. You may leave a comment below, email me to mary@marysalfi.com or find me on Facebook by becoming a fan of marysalfi.com

Much more grounded!
Mary