The Power of Any

Ditching the smartphone has led to more noticing

I’m lying in the grass, face down, basking in the warm sun, an appetizer to the summer we hope to have. I’m supposed to be preparing for this week’s Bible study, the one I am teaching through the book of Luke, but I am lulled by the comfort of buzzing honeybees nearby, and distracted by the teeny tiny flowers amongst the grassheads that pushed up faster than the mower could cut them down. Such perfect harmony and form, I wonder, and then I wonder once again: why do I not notice these things more often? The swallowtails are dipping through the air along with robins and spotted towhee and swallows all darting and singing and chirping and I am content beyond measure.

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The noticing is what I notice most about making changes to my technology use and distraction. As in, I Notice Things More. For example, early last week I set out to gather greens for the soup I was making for lunch. Although my smartphone still is usable at home with wifi (not for text or calls however), I declined to carry it out with me, a podcast filling my ears. I rarely listen to any podcasts anymore. Initially, when I began this weaning of constant consumption, going outside seemed rather, well, boring. Watering the garden for an hour with no company but my own thoughts made time stretch to no end. But wasn’t that what I truly wanted? For time to stretch? To have more of my own thoughts?

To gather the greens, I had with me my small blue garden scissors, thin garden gloves, and a large silver bowl. First, I cut the last of the chard off a stalk going to seed, and then I walked down the gravel driveway to clip cleavers I had discovered the day before (more noticing). On the way back to the house, I donned my gloves and began to collect a nice batch of nettle at one of the woodland edge.

The nimble scratching and scampering is what drew my attention ahead of me. I looked up the cedar in front of me, and there a raccoon and I met face to face mere yards apart.

“Well, hello,” I said, “Aren’t you a pretty one?…Stay away from my hens, if you please.”

A few minutes of mutual gazing, and then both of us turned about and went upon our way.

Winding my way back to the house, I sensed movement to my right and stopped. I saw nothing initially, but I remained still and watchful. A female deer proceeded to daintily pluck her hooves one at a time out from the side yard where huckleberry and currant and thistleberry grow, turned to regard my attention, and then slowly made her way into the woods. I heard her steps gently snap and crack into the brush, and I remembered then to exhale.

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I find using my Light Phone an interesting experience. It’s a smidge over two inches by four. It feels good in my hand; I never get that ache in my hand from holding it. To be fair, I don’t hold it very long. I declined adding anything else to the phone other than phone and text, so there is nothing else to do on it. My children say that when I text on it, I look like I’m playing a small handheld game from the late 1970’s. “Cool,” I say.

That assumes I miss texting faster. I don’t. In fact, my texts are now not only slower, but shorter. If I need to say something with more than five words, I’m probably going to call instead, which I do. And then I end up actually talking to real people. Thus far, those people seem to enjoy talking with me. I don’t see that as a downside.

The battery life is meh. It gets me through the entire day, but that is all. Of course, my own body’s battery does likewise before I need to recharge, so the complaint seems silly. Still, it’s something to consider if you are a heavy call and text user, using the phone for a lot of outside work, or away from home for extraordinary long stretches.

Also, if you forget to throw a book into your bag, prepare to wait for appointments with nothing to read, as magazines seem to, sadly, be disappearing faster than the candies at the front desk.

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For once, I arrived early enough to one of my kids’ concerts to choose a row of seats that would comfortably fit a semi-large family. I scooted in over to the very end, sat next to another mother, and began to settle in and rearrange all of the mom-bag things.

“Are you Keri?”, she asked while I was bent over riffling.

Up popped my head, “Yes!” and she launched into how she remembered a talk I had given many, many years ago in that very building, and how she had read my book, too. I admitted to her I was rather astonished to be recognized; that book was published ten years ago. While waiting for the multitude of children to settle into their places and tune their stringed instruments, we chatted about the neverending vigilance to stay focused upon what really matters, and I played show-n-tell with my wrist watch, Light Phone, paper calendar and more.

I was glad not to have my smartphone nearby buzzing and lighting up regularly, silently screaming at me to inattentiveness and to hurry up our relaxed conversation. I was glad I could show up as the person she thought I was.

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Last week, I received snail mail from a reader, which I always love (yes, I will be writing back!). I suppose it is one thing to know intellectually that there are many women who also long for a quiet and purposefully lived life, present in all they do, but to flip over a postcard that has been handwritten professing such is real life evidence. I do love the slow, steady hand.

Which is probably why I found myself watching Kiko Sabi on YouTube. She has many videos of mesmerizing handwork, and I suppose the algorithm discovered I wanted slow and steady, not fast and furious. Yes, watching handwork is relaxing, but if you are able, I would encourage you to actually DO some handwork, which is infinitely more relaxing and actually produces something. I am currently working on knitting my third no-pattern sweater, this one attempting to use up all of the scraps I had leftover from other projects, including homespun. I expect it to be slightly amusing to look at, but I am rather proud thus far of it and plan to wear it, even if it is only within my four walls!

I am still art journaling as well, which I enjoy immensely. This, too, is a slow and steady work that I do. Unlike someone like Kiko, I do not have an entire day to work on a project, but rather bits and bobs of minutes throughout. It suits me just fine to lay down a layer of paint, walk away, then dabble in with an ink pen, walk away, and so forth and so on. Somewhat like my knitting, a row here, a row there. It does get done in the end, yes? (Do you want to see more of my art journals?)

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This morning, I opened the curtains to the bedroom sliding glass door and the sound of it stopped a coyote in his tracks outside. I don’t know if he could see me through the glass as I took in his stance, the sunlight upon his back, his upright ears and eyes towards me. He turned and darted away as a hummingbird flitted the opposite direction to the plum colored rhododendrons. What a busy creation the Lord has!

I don’t know why I’m noticing more. I don’t know if any of it has anything to do with whatever I am doing (or not doing) whatsoever at all. But the bald eagle that swooped low over my head, thwarted by the coop fencing, and the teeny ladybug I was thrilled to find on the growing echinacea brought to me a quiet joy and satisfaction that no amount of whipping out my smartphone, photographing, editing, uploading, and posting to social media could have matched.

1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

P.S. I love writing, and I love writing for you, too. I have been blogging off and on for the past eighteen years, and do enjoy it. I want you to know that I won’t be using AI for any of my writing, or any of my photographs either (they are mine). I also want you to be blessed by what I share, and have the ability to freely share it. I am therefore removing the paywall for my Substack. Please allow me some time to figure out how to do that (tech!), but it is coming.

If you are currently a subscriber of any kind, thank you so much for the companionship. I see you and am grateful for you.

If you are supporting me with sending your monetary generosity, I am also very grateful for that. It does encourage me to work to become an even better writer through study and other supportive work to that end. Paid subscribers moving forward will have the option for not only continued journal promptings through the chat, but to also continue Q&A and further open discussions through that. That being said, there is no pressure to continue gifting me, nor to show up in the chat if you do choose to continue your support. I am here to participate in the chat if you would like to, and want to help however I may with your own endeavors to be more present.

I am simply here to further my calling in the Lord, and to hearten my sisters who plod the same path I am on. Thank you for reading ❤️