Why I stopped using a Smartphone, and went back to a flip phone.

Well…. it’s like this (I will keep it simple):

I fiddled with my phone constantly. I enjoy Twitter, but for the most part, 15 minutes past my due date in a bathroom stall, I would query why I would waste time on so many apps and attention grabbing wastes of moments…. in the end, after thinking about all the news, games, and other meaningless diversions, I didn’t really need or enjoy any of it.  This culminated in me realizing anything in bite size chunks is dumbing me down, and any benefits to be gained are far outweighed by the toxic aspect of these developed neuroses impacting our culture… craned necks, oblivious drivers in traffic staring at their laps, etc.  I also took these bite size chunks out of my media and news realms… ending the talking heads and 10 minute news cycle cacophony.

So I stopped.  Just plain stopped.

Now I have read about 4 books in the last couple months, versus 2 a year.

I listen to classical music or books on tape, so no more depressing news, and 60 apps keeping up with events, etc.

I now have a flip phone on contract at $30 a month, and save about $80 a month on a smartphone, which is nearly $1000 towards a nice hotel somewhere on vacation.

I *DO* have a Samsung s3, but broke 3 in last couple months on job sites, and that $150 a pop still hurts, however much the insurance is appreciated.

Now I have a rugged phone, and a Galaxy s3 I can keep for emergencies, to access email on a wifi network, etc. But I never use it, it’s always off, and now…..  The smartphone battery simply won’t die, as it’s never on.  My flip phone can go about 1 1/2 weeks without a charge.  Everything is simpler.  No cords and rememberances of what I needed, what I didn’t bring, what I should be doing….

I am wholly and firmly entrenched in the now, and not using the immediate moments of the present as a waypoint into the future, or a signpost of the past.  I am here. Existing. Calmly.

Now I think about what I need before I leave somewhere, and am accountable to it.

I work through math problems and think deeply about stuff prior to consulting google…..

I am generally calmer, happier, more at peace, and less fractionalized, with greater attention. Calm, peace, and happiness, and I still have access to a smartphone on wireless if I ever lose my mind and go back to it.

I can feel my body breathing, and I can feel it saying thank you….  I can feel my brain heeling and garnering more from the world around me.  It’s also fall, and those colors are stunning, aren’t they [audience looks up and out to nature].

Also, bathroom breaks are about 75% shorter, and infinitely more efficient for the task at hand. [ahem]