Unplug

I’m fortunate to live in a town that has a beautiful hike and bike trail along a river. It traverses most of the community. I can hop on it fairly close to my home and travel all the way to the recreation center. About fifteen years ago I started riding my bike there. I got exercise coming and going plus my workout. It was terrific, but I did one thing to mess it up. I listened to music on my headphones.

I liked the music. It gave me energy for the ride. After a few years of this I heard a podcast, while riding my bike, that explained the emotional and physical benefits of being out in nature. The facts are well documented. That gave me the great idea of listening to nature sounds on my phone while riding. I know it sounds crazy, but somehow I missed how silly the idea was, listening to artificial nature while riding through real nature. After a few weeks the irony hit me. I put the headphones in a drawer where they stay most of the time.

It’s easy for me to become isolated, and especially when I’m well connected. Being in the real world is important for me physically, emotionally and mentally. That was driven home the past two weekends when I had back to back bouts with a stomach bug. All I had enough energy for was watching TV or being on my phone. I feel better physically, but my soul is having a screen hangover. 

I’ve taken a few steps to make social media apps harder to access on my phone. What really helps is remembering the quote by Marcus Aurelius. “Stop whatever you’re doing at the moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?”

I’m not sure of much in life, but I am sure of this. When I get to the end of my life I won’t be wishing that I spent more time in front of a screen. Nothing more complicated than perception.

May you have enough today, one moment at a time.