On Sunday, my cell phone went missing. I was sure it was in my house but after looking in all intuitive and non-intuitive places – nothing!
Oh my. This is my everything phone, both personal and business. I will spare you the details around this loss and talk about the shock of the loss and an interesting silver lining to an upsetting mystery.
On Monday, I was still looking for it, but I needed to be out doing errands for a few hours. As I started the car the glaring ‘bluetooth connection failed’ appeared and became yet another reminder that my Iphone was indeed in a location unknown to me .
My phone addiction – no awareness until now – was beginning to kick in and thoughts of missing family ’emergency’ calls and prospective client inquiries was unsettling. Texting was out, weather and time checking (no wristwatch here!), and of course no opening all those important dinging emails begging immediate attention. (Delete, delete, and delete…)
By the time I got to the third errand, boy did my nervous system calm down! My un-tetheredness to my device was morphing into the realization that “I am happily minus a familiar, habitual YET now conscious stimulus that creates a tension filled non stop startle“. By removing it, I experienced freedom of movement, And a freedom of thought.
Being aware of nervous system states and the means to modify them adds a welcome discovery to my own predicaments. But not always……think the shoemakers children have no shoes.
BUT, in this case I immediately noticed space, expansion, calm and a clear contrast to my previous phone dependent nervous errand run. I breathed, smelled the roses (in the grocery store), and felt my senses come alive. (I’m not making this up!)
So, remove interferences in order to change inefficient patterns. Hmmm…..Did I unconsciously lose my phone in order to consciously teach myself a lesson? Maybe. This I will never know for sure.
But, for sure the experience of calm and breathe that appeared due to the absence of a strong stimulus was a powerful reminder that we always have a choice.
I feel fortunate that somewhere in the netherworld a choice was made for me this time and I was the lucky recipient.
So will I replace my phone? Of course! I am now thinking about getting an upgrade status, with no upgrade available. Bring the price down. Get the best deal.
But I am also planning to schedule phone moratoriums where I can be untethered for longer periods of time, smell the roses (again in the grocery store), enjoy what I am doing in the moment.
Sorry Iphone, we’re separating……..more often.
Happy Dancing! Do you have a habitual excess of muscular tension that you would like to eliminate? Please leave your comments I can help you – it’s what I do for others (if not always for myself!)
If you know other dancers who may benefit from reading my blog, please forward.
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