Life Without My Phone
It was a half an hour before I was to board a train in Florence, on my way to Grosseto, Italy. With me were two roller suitcases, a pack on my back, and a basket type bag, riding on my smaller suitcase. Too bad I didn’t see the twinkle in the thief’s eyes when his training in how to spot a prime target kicked in. Ten minutes later, my phone was gone.
I swung back around to the hotel and was able to do a search on my iPad through Find My Phone. The phone traveled from one direction to another at amazing speed. The thieves surely had a well tuned system. The hotel kindly printed out my ticket for the train and I was on my way soon after.
Arriving at my destination, I filed a claim with Apple. It stated I would have a new phone in up to 7 days. Due to an address glitch, the seven days passed without receiving it. Six calls later, on my friend’s phone, it was discovered that Apple shipping had tried to call me three times. Imagine what ran through my head as to how respond to the irony of this dilemma, but what came out of me was simply and firmly stated, “I don’t have a phone.” He probably heard me mumble, “Seriously?” In total, a month passed and the day before I was committed to leaving, a new phone was in my hands.
I know the Universe desired for me to experience life without it and I thank it immensely. I loved the freedom of not feeling tied to it. My brain could relax, for I didn’t have to think about where to put it, then remember where it was, and my thoughts were not interrupted by the ding of a message coming in. The time of the day didn’t matter, except for gathering for lunch, but my stomach did the job instead. Also, I didn’t have to read the messages, that came in for the group, that didn’t pertain to me. At first, I was frustrated I no longer had a camera, but instead I spent the time truly looking at the scene in front of me, holding the memory of it only in my heart — a deeper experience for sure. It was wonderful.
A weak WiFi kept me off my iPad, which I was willing to do. I was meant to experience Italy at its fullestI My body was more relaxed, my eyes were happier from not being focused on a small screen, and my desire to live in the moment became the mantra of the day. The temperature hovered around the high 90’s and up to 104 degrees the entire visit and it was brutal, but I knew the heat was part of living in Italy. Retreating to a cool location was quite limited, so I learned how to handle the heat by listening to my body. Siesta’s and drinking lots of water were a must.
I began to not want my phone to arrive. I truly enjoyed my life without it. I feared I was going to go back to my old habits with it in my possession. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to get around without one in today’s times. Two forms of ID for authentication when trying to enter many sites became impossible. Wandering through Siena, the signage at basic maps had a QR code to use for detailed information. This, alone, was a huge eye opener for me. We are being conditioned to rely solely on our phones for just about everything. A scary thought, for sure.
Eight days have passed since I received my replacement and while I have slipped a few times to looking at it for no particular reason, I am able to put it down and leave it there for most of day. It is a wonderful feeling to let go and be with my own thoughts, not what is fed to our brains by others.
What did I learn? Have a back up device (if possible), carry a paper map of your location, wear a watch, write phone numbers of important contacts on a piece of paper, also addresses of the places you are staying, print tickets ahead - whenever possible, and relax — you can and will survive without a cell phone!
I encourage you to try a week without a phone by your side. Experience the joy of living in the moment with the beauty that surrounds you. I promise you will discover the time, once wasted on the phone, will be rewarding, comforting, and grounding.
One last note — after two weeks, my stolen phone landed in Senegal!
Always with love,
Carol