Oh, Holy Cell Phone! Changing Our Relationship to Technology
Realigning our relationship to technology (and self)
Seriously, how did it come to this?Suffice it to say, as sad as it is to admit - one never feels quite as vulnerable as when they experience some kind of electronic meltdown – a computer virus, a hacked account, being the victim of credit card fraud, losing a cell phone, etc.I recently spilled a glass of water on my desk and suddenly, as if in slow motion, I watched the water cascade across my desk, over papers, off the side and onto the plugs below – all the plugs: modem, PC, printer…the whole maze of cords, you name it. As I scrambled for a towel to mop it up as quickly as possible – I literally witnessed my computer screen turn various shades of the rainbow and suddenly blackout. Total electronic meltdown, total internal meltdown for me. OMG. OMG. OMG.
I stood there feeling naked in town square, vulnerable and terrorized by the notion that I had just fried my PC, and along with it – its entire contents, what felt like my life.
The notion that all of that info was safely stored somewhere over the rainbow on some ‘Cloud’, never quite gave me a genuinely warm and fuzzy feeling. However, suddenly in that moment, I found myself praying to the Cloud Gods above.It’s in those initial seconds of terror that you just want someone to make magical things happen – to restore everything to the way it once was so you can skip off into your digital horizon. But that usually isn’t the case and something is lost in the process.Recently, the resident teenager had a major phone malfunction and in a flash he lost everything – photos, contacts, everything. As we collectively scrambled to problem-shoot the situation at hand, I experienced a gamut of emotions: Anger – had he carelessly dropped the phone? Sadness – the poor kid had been working so hard on acquiring contacts for his podcast, only to lose everything in one full blow. Vulnerable – the prospects of replacing said phone weren’t great, and would at a minimum, cost a small fortune. And of course, empathetically speaking - the mere thought of losing data sent shivers down my spine.OK, yes, I know — 1st world problem. After calming the very upset teenager, I was able to settle into the reality that this was an opportunity for all of us (and not only in obvious ways). I started to think about the absolute absurdity of our reliance upon our electronic devices. Contemplate this for a moment – we stock these devices full of everything that matters to us, then we enter into some other mental stratosphere and vow to remain ever-faithful, ever-connected to them.This isn’t a tirade about electronics (however, we could all use a sound check in this arena). As parents, we like to say that this is all about our kids and their need to get outside and run around, leaving the electronics behind. But what about us? You can’t go anywhere without seeing people on their devices. We are hooked. In fact, some may call it addiction, much like that which we may have with foods or wine. I just need another hit, one quick glance at my Insta account...even though I’m in the middle of dinner at a restaurant or sitting in the stands at my kid’s game. How about a spoonful of our own medicine?
Look, I love science, technology and convenience as much as the next person, but it’s all about balance, baby! When we can pair this with nature, quiet, calm, stillness and some chirping birds in the background – then we are good.
For some of us we need to consciously create space for some of that balance. I sit behind a computer screen for most of the day, so I’m preaching to my own choir here.Are you in need of a reboot? I’m re-setting in May – body, mind and spirit — and declaring it a gift to self. I’ve said it here, so now I have to follow through.
Here are a few promises I’m making to shift some of the low-grade, day-to-day stress in my life:
• NURTURE: Embarking on the 30-Day Plan of Action, outlined in Dr. Kelly Brogan’s new book, A Mind of Your Own. This is a nutritional intervention created to allow our bodies to restore to a new level of overall vibrancy.• PRESERVE: Putting a promise in place to back up all data, even going old-school and writing some of this stuff down and keeping hard copies. I’m tired of having all of my digital eggs in one basket.• PAUSE: Keeping Calm and Unplugging On. Note to self: While we need to allow ourselves to feel what we feel, freaking out along with the digital distress only begets more of the same.• PLAY: Carving out time each day for fun sans digital devices. My spirit wants to play and be present without headsets in my ears and a device in my hands.Can you think of an aspect of your life that could use a jumpstart, perhaps a little detox? Detox isn’t a dirty word. Think of it as de-taxing your radiant self. Let’s make vibrancy the new norm and reclaim that version of ourselves. Are you willing to give your best self a whirl?