If Only I Could Do This More Often: Forty-Eight Hours Without Technology

To be quite honest, at the very beginning I was really quite nervous.  I suppose that might be the case for someone who frequently receives texts because of responsibilities associated with a leadership position in an organization.   Fortunately, all of this happened during Spring Break, after student government had taken care of all the big items for the first half of the semester.  When I knew the time to commit was at hand, I made a post on my Facebook about what I was about to do, just to inform people that I would be participating in a fast (the post actually received 17 likes and several comments)  I then gave my phone to a trusted friend for safe keeping, and just in case there was a real emergency that I needed to respond to.  Then it began.

In the very early stages I would frequently think of something that I needed to do, but then realized it was something that I could only do with my phone.  Check texts and emails.  Do some homework.  Even play some instruments.  I remember sitting in a band room, after having practiced a piece for choir, and sitting down to play a piano, only to have one of my friends point out to me later that the very piano that I was playing was a digital piano.  I quickly moved to another instrument.

Oddly enough, I felt much more productive not having my phone on me.  It was at that point that I realized just how much time I actually spent on my phone, and how much using that wretched thing drew me away during conversation with people and living in the actual moment.  Also, oddly enough, I did not feel disconnected with the world.  In fact, I'm sure I felt more connected than I had been in a very long time, because my mind was there in the present conversation, and not concerned with the text that I just received or wondering what my inbox looked like.

I suppose for me, losing technology, and my phone, felt like shedding some of the responsibility that I had.  I no longer had to worry about people calling me and reminding me about events, or no longer had to scan my inbox for emails about meetings or different votes that needed to be taken.  At the same time I felt free to actually live in the present physical moment.  I didn't need to take pictures, but I could actually enjoy the animal warmth of my friends, the texture of the sand between my feet, and the cool breeze as it hit the lake and coursed over my arms.  Life felt more real.

Really, the only downside to all of this was, first, I really did have a lot of responsibilities to take care of that needed to be tended to at some point.  There was no escaping that fact.  And second, it made it hard to look up tabs for guitar when we were camping.  Also, we couldn't listen to music in the car.  However, we had a blast singing Disney songs a cappella on the way to Sand Hollow.

Life without technology

When I returned back to that which I had grown to loathe, I checked my Facebook only to see several comments on my post about the fast.  One of them was from someone who had done the fast in the past, for the very same class.  He commented, "It's the worst thing ever!"  I could only wonder how much so many of us had become dependent on technology for our entertainment and convenience.  For myself, fortunately, I couldn't agree less with his comment.  I could live my life without any of those things, and probably be happier for it.  It was an interesting experience for sure, and you can bet your iPhone that I will do this again periodically in the future just to gain some added appreciation for nature and reverence for an even bigger social network that binds us all together, life.