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I Gave up my iPhone for a Flip Phone -- Day 3

6/4/2017

3 Comments

 
Picture
Today was a watershed moment because I was leaving for a trip, and the thought of traveling without my iPhone nearly paralyzed me.  I realized that this would be the first time that I would be on a trip without it. So I wondered how I would deal with the Uber scheduling, how I would check-in for my flights, how I would keep track of my expenses, how I would share photos in social conversation, or even take photos, for that matter! My flip phone has a camera, but it isn't useful for the kinds of things I need the camera to do -- things like scanning documents! And, would I now have to go back to the primitive idea of printing my boarding pass rather than using the boarding pass on my iPhone? Yikes!

Before I even left the house, however, I had to decide whether to take my iPhone or my iPad since they now work about the same. I decided on the iPhone because it's smaller and lighter and I'm a very light traveler. (Well, except for all my devices and cords, that is)! One goal I have is to get down to just two devices -- a laptop/tablet and a phone.  My Microsoft Surface Pro actually is made to function as both a tablet and a laptop, so I really don't need it, and an iPad, and an iPhone, and a flip phone!  But, gosh, each one does something the others don't do, so I feel I need them all!

I started down the highway driving my regular 3 hour route to Las Vegas to get to the airport.  Before I had even gotten out of my little town, I suddenly had an urge, which I now realize was a withdrawal symptom. I just wanted my iPhone back. I didn't want to have to struggle anymore trying to make accommodations to a flip phone.  I had suddenly forgotten all the reasons for engaging in this experiment.  I just wanted to have what was comfortable and natural to me --- my iPhone 7!!  I even wondered how I would occupy myself for the 3 hour drive to Vegas. After all, I was going to stop in Searchlight, NV for lunch -- a small 2 casino/1 post office kind of town -- and if there was nothing I could do on my phone I would have to just eat lunch!! And another thing, I wouldn't be able to listen to what music I do have on my iPhone -- I would be stuck with only one CD for the entire trip. Since I was already partly out of town, I knew it would not be in my best interest to go back to my regular AT&T authorized dealer. So, I said to myself, "I'm sure they have an AT&T authorized dealer in Needles, CA. I can just stop there and tell them to switch everything back to the way it was."

After these moments of darting back and forth in my mind and feeling like a trapped animal, I took a scan of the landscape and I remembered. I remembered when I used to drive these highways long before the thought of a iPhone (or any cellphone) had ever germinated in the mind of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.  I traveled 200 miles every Sunday on these roads with no phone at all -- nothing but my hitchhiking thumb if I broke down or needed help. And, I certainly had no device to 'occupy myself.' What there was on those drives was the beautiful desert landscape and my own big, broad thoughts that spanned across the desert horizon. I saw rocks and sand, the moon hanging in the sky, the heat warping the pavement, the mountains stolid and sure, the sky as immense as heaven.  I sang, and prayed, and dreamt up new plans and ideas. When I remembered all of this, I felt a sense of calm descending on me.  I wondered to myself, if maybe, I could do that today instead of needing some external electronic device to keep me company.

So, I soldiered on past Needles, had a quiet lunch in Searchlight, and headed to Vegas -- draped in the holy landscape that feeds my soul.

3 Comments
Tricia Hearn
6/5/2017 07:26:31 am

You can do this!! When you are able to break free of the obsession,then you can see clearly how to use the devices in ways that make your life better rather then being a slave to devices. Have to have 2 crazy phones has taught me there are situations where I can just leave them BOTH behind and chose not to BE THEIR SLAVE. Texting, on my terms, and photos are easier with the smartphones verses the flip, but talking is the same. Enjoy your travels and I will assume next Sunday is E-Service unless I hear otherwise! Blessings!! Tricia

Reply
Becky Hogan
6/5/2017 07:56:03 am

When you posted this last Friday I thought it was a late April Fool's joke! Not!!!

Reply
Cleo Carter link
6/5/2017 08:14:47 am

You can do this!!! Perhaps, this would be an experiment I would like to try...I may purchase a TracPhone today! Good luck to you!

Reply



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    Life is rich with texture and beauty. Even the parts that seem unwanted hold within them seeds of grace.

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