Life without a phone… madness?

Do you remember when you last put your phone down?

Last week, I lost my phone at Sydney Airport. A good samaritan handed it in, but only after I'd jetted off to other parts of NSW, not to return for three days. 

3 days phoneless. 

It was like I'd lost my left hand.. or thumb, at least. It's the longest I've been without my phone, for at least five years, and it was incredible to see what a difference it made. It was the little things. I noticed more sounds in nature, more little conversations and more faces. The world seemed brighter. It also made me slow down.. I had no choice, and everything seemed to have a shiny tinge.

Don't get me wrong; it wasn't all roses. Behind my eyes was a steady sense of panic as I couldn't reach anyone, do business, contact my sick father, order food, set an alarm clock, find my way... You don't realise we rely so heavily on these devices for all the little things. 

It was an incredible experience. 

And although I was ecstatic to get it back, I have spent the last few days staring at it with disdain – the deep breaths of being addicted to something that seems perfectly acceptable to the world. Like one of those planters warts on your foot that you are just never going to get rid of. 

I often think about times gone by. My parent's era. Glamourous photos of people doing sport with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth, mothers – baby in one hand, fag in another with the caption 'For a mothers relaxation'….. people smoked on busses, in the movies, it was prescribed by doctors for asthma, at work, to calm nerves by elite athletes….. smoking was the heavenly thing that EVERYBODY did.. it was normal. It helped us. It supported us. And no one battered a single eyelid. 

I have often asked my mother with exasperation, 'Why?? It is so obviously bad for you. Couldn't you all tell? How could you truly believe that smoking whilst snow-ski-ing was ever a great thing?' 

And my mother always used to raise her arms and say, “We didn't know it was so bad for us… we just thought that that's what you did. And everyone did it.” It seems so hard to fathom these days. 

But as I sit here today after my three-day experience.. and slightly revolt at the device in my hand (one which, I can't deny.. is excruciatingly helpful), I can't help but see an image of me in years to come, raising my hand to my exasperated boy and claiming 'The thing is, we just didn't know…. We just thought that's what you did.. and everyone did it. 

When was the last time you had a day TRULY phone-free?