The Right Type of Distraction
Since 2020, I had been on a steady tech detox, a la Cal Newport. I switchd to DuckDuckGo, I traded my android for a feature phone, I started writing notes by hand. And in cursive!
It was beautiful, I was present. No "Power of Now" needed. I could take my kids to the playground and be perfectly happy with my face in the sun, pushing and playing with my children.
A couple years later, I lost my feature phone, and Verizon had a great deal going. Get an iPhone 11 for $5/month. Heck! I have never owned an iPhone, I was always an Android person. I got it. And at first it was great. I could listen to work meetings at the gym, or shopping, or at the playground. But then when the work day was over, I still had my face shoved in that phone. I still do to this day.
This distraction life is not a good one. Attention/distraction addiction, whatever you want to call it. It's not good, because -- for me -- it's soul starving. It's fear or discomfort based, ego feeding nonsense. It's either headline news, stock analysis, or sitting there confirming some prior that I, in no way, plan to change.
Self-centered distraction cannot be healthy. But self-less distraction. That's the good stuff. Self-less distraction is that "presence" that "here, and now" that I am are looking for. Self-less distraction, engaging conversation, looking around at nature and abandoning myself to it, playing with my kids, and really playing with them, volunteering my time with sincerity, and giving all of my to some occasion. These are the gems that make life worth living. No one will ever remember the price of Apple on November 10, 2023. Someone will remember how I made them feel a human connection.