Fifth Week of Lent: Friday

Friday, April 15, 2011

We all know that sacrifice is a pillar of this Lenten season.  In past years I have chosen to give up eating ice cream or drinking soda.  This year I decided not to make official sacrifices, but to do more good deeds.  While this arrangement was working out just fine, last week I was forced to make one of the biggest sacrifices I could imagine.  My cell phone broke and I spent a whole week without this device that has become such a part of me.  Being without a cell phone in today’s world would make some people cringe at just the thought.   We are so attached to technology and instant communication.  Disconnecting leads to semi-withdrawal.  As annoying as it was, I found this sacrifice to be a very reflective time for me.

While being completely cut off was no doubt stressful, I learned a lot about myself this week.  First, I never realized how often I look at my phone during class, either for the time, a text message, or just because I could.  This week I found myself more involved in class discussions and listening more closely to lectures.  I could give my full attention to any activity in front of me because I wasn’t distracted by my cell phone.  More importantly, I had more meaningful conversations with my friends because I couldn’t talk to them without being right next to them.  I had to use email and Facebook as my main means of communication with people when across campus, but I also recognized how much time I spend distracted from real life because of technology.  Again, without this major distraction glued to my hand, I could live in the moment, be completely present, and better appreciate the world right in front of me.

While I will definitely be more careful with my cell phone around water in the future, I look forward to forcing myself to “unplug” every once in a while.  It will not be a full week, but at least an hour to spend just being me.  I think it is safe to say that we have all allowed ourselves to succumb to distractions and to be attached to technology.  So I ask all of you, how can we reduce distractions on a daily basis?  How can we spend our time more effectively? What else is out there that we are missing?

-   Katie C. ‘14