I was going to go to a cruise with my friends. It happened by accident: I forgot my phone at home to charge. When I noticed I was missing my phone it was already too late, the bus was moving and there was no time to go back and get it. Even though it was a bit disappointing, the weekend without a phone taught me a lot.
First of all, when I got over the shock of not having my phone with me, I was very relaxed. I knew everything was going to be alright. My friends had their phones and I could use theirs if necessary. It was no big deal to others nor to myself.
Second, I needed to relay on the phones of the others. I usually check things like time and opening hours, as well as Google random things with my phone, so I needed to ask others for help. Luckily my friends didn’t got annoyed and kindly helped me. Also, I didn’t go much alone because without a phone I couldn’t send messages or keep contact with the others in the cruise ship. It was just easier to move with the group rather than going alone and getting lost. To avoid the hassle we could have made a plan of where to meet and by when, but due changing plans we decided to just go all together.
Photo by lokarina from pixabay
Of course there were times when the others were fumbling their phones while I was just sitting there. When it happened they soon stopped and we started talking with each other rather than sitting quietly. I think that to have real connection, it is necessary to leave phones out of the situation.
I think that the weekend trip was much more meaningful because I had those moments of just being without doing. It was very refreshing to focus on what was going on at the moment rather than spending time fiddling about the phone. The constant urge to check what’s new on Instagram and scrolling through Facebook gives you more stress than you realize. I didn’t need to worry over unseen pictures or posts on social media or fill the empty time with meaningless scrolling, I could just be in the moment.
After the phone-free weekend I could really see how it affected me. The time spent without a phone was truly relaxing, grounding and much needed. I challenge you to try it and see for yourself!