I do not enjoy my relationship with my phone. (I write, as my phone sits beside me.)

I remember getting my first smartphone (I was in my 30s!!!) and how excited I was about it. It felt luxurious to hold so much power in my hands. As a pretty lonely single mom of two very young kids, it was my connection to the world. 

But over the past decade and and a half, it feels more like I’m losing connection.

The notifications are an intrusion. When my phone alerts me to distraction, I find it increasingly difficult to return to my own thoughts and ideas. They get lost. And I’m left feeling anxious and incomplete.

These days, I keep it on Do Not Disturb about 90% of the time. (both of my kids have the secret handshake required to get their messages through). I’m constantly having to use the Find My iPhone feature on my iPad to find the phone I have abandoned somewhere in my house. I put it on sleep mode starting around 7:30pm, at which point I only use it to play my audiobook du jour. 

When I’m bored in line at the grocery store, I pay attention to my surroundings. Who is that person in the line beside me and why might they have 20 cartons of eggs in their cart? How does the dialogue sound between the check-out worker and the 3-year-old mischief-maker in front of me? What might happen if all the lights went out and the store was transformed into a discotheque?

• I read books made of paper so that I can make notes in the margins and circle words that intrigue me.
• I prefer paper maps because I’d rather be a pirate than a moving dot on a line.
• I use actual scissors to cut pictures out of magazines and real glue to paste them down.
• I prefer to savour letters that appear in my mailbox than quickly scan what arrives in my inbox.
• I crave things that hold my attention for more than 30 seconds. 
• I like not knowing things. It makes me think and imagine and guess in wonder.

Yes, of course, I still USE my phone. I share memes with friends and search recipes and play endless rounds of spider solitaire. 

I also run a business that is pretty much entirely based on social media and zoom. 

So where does that leave me as a business owner?

Well, to start with, I am not cancelling my phone subscription or deleting my social media accounts. They have purpose. I wouldn’t have my current community without them. But I want people to be able to participate in this community without their phones.

Above all else, I will continue to prioritize my mental health and monitor how the use of my phone is impacting my peace. 

My life is NOT content. I do things and make things and think things that will only ever be shared over cups of tea. I hope one day, we might be able to share a cup of tea together, in person, no phones. 

Until next time. Take care of yourself and your peace,
Erica

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 Erica Richmond, the founder of Open Sky Stories believes that words have the power to provide connection & healing. She offers a variety of writing workshops and 1:1 mentoring. Erica has published three books: Pixie and the Fox, Pixie and the Bees and The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19.

She lives in Peterborough, Canada finding adventures in everyday life.

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