You know the best thing that happened to me the other day?
My phone died! That sounds more dramatic that it actually was. Temporarily. I hadn’t had time to recharge my phone and the inevitable happened.
I had booked my car at the local mechanics. What was supposed to take 15 min was going to take 45 min.
So I decided to walk to a park nearby. I found a bench overlooking a green grassy oval. And I simply sat.
Without doing anything else. Admittedly I didn’t have a choice that day. I couldn’t listen to a podcast. Or take photographs. Or answer text messages I hadn’t got around to replying to.
I invited God in to my experience. Felt the warmth of the morning sun on my skin. Watched the autumn leaves falling gently to the ground from the tree that I was sitting underneath. People watched. Let my mind wander. Took time to breathe. Properly. Listened to my self. Reflected. Contemplated. Gave some things over to God.
For 45 minutes. Of uninterrupted quiet. Of undistracted stillness. It allowed me to catch up with my self. And it didn’t feel like an eternity! In fact it was quite the opposite. When my mechanic came to find me, I almost wished that I had more of that uninterrupted, undistracted time.
My phone running out of battery was such a gift! And a real reminder that as helpful as these devices can be, it comes at a cost to our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
It reminded me of how important it is to take time away from our devices. And how we need to be intentional about unplugging. And intentional about allowing ourselves to simply sit and be.
So the next time you can. Simply unplug. Find a quiet spot, breathe in the fresh air, and allow yourself to simply be. Embrace the gift that is, uninterrupted time and space, and notice how it notice nourishes your body, soul and spirit.