If you're a person of faith (or, even not in this crazy time...) today was set aside by people of many denominations as a day of prayer and fasting. The concept is simple, dedicate your thoughts inward, to think of the situation facing the world and how we need a power greater than ourselves for help.
Prayer and fasting has been around for millennia as a way for humans to cope with events, either world-wide or personal. By praying and giving up food for a specific length of time a person hopefully gains understanding, builds their faith and demonstrates to that higher power a desire to help others.
Millions gave up food today, but not me. Because of the time of year it is, spring allergies play havoc on my system. I can't really not eat right now, so last night I wondered what I could give up, could go without. Then it hit me...
My phone.
It sounded a little silly at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Every day we ingest food, but we also ingest other things, like information, and entertainment. Denying myself the things offered by my phone is a way to give up something that's become as natural as food.
I woke up, and just left the phone on my nightstand.
And I didn't touch it for many, many hours.
This morning I read a large portion of a book I've been meaning to finish. I hung out with the family. I played with the dog. It wasn't until the afternoon that I picked up my phone (no, I did not complete a twenty-four phone fast...).
It's obvious how addicted we are to technology. I'm speaking for myself, of course, but I think I can safely say I'm not the only one. For the first time since I've owned a smartphone I didn't touch whenever I wanted. I thought about other things, sort of the point of going without. It was a good experience, something I should do more of. Hopefully, I will.
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