FINDING WISDOM IN
THE SMARTPHONE
THE SMARTPHONE
I invented a new practice for myself recently. Here’s the instruction: don’t look at your phone.
That’s what I tell myself when I feel myself start to get restless. Waiting for the elevator. Waking up in the morning. Standing alone at a party.
And it doesn’t mean Never look at your phone. There are many moments throughout the day when it’s reasonable to do so. But I often look at my phone by default, even when there’s no reason to. Or, worse, I look at it because I’m avoiding something uncomfortable — like a squishy emotion.
When I try this new practice of not looking at my phone, I discover a lot. Sometimes, choosing not to look at my phone reminds me that there’s something I’m avoiding. Other times, it reminds me to relax and enjoy myself. And other times still, it prompts me to ask: what am I using this phone for?
Most of us have smartphones — literal supercomputers strapped to our hips. How are we using them? How are they using us? I find that when I start asking these questions, this object of distraction starts to become an object of meditation.
—Sam Littlefair, editor, LionsRoar.com
PS: If you want to take your smartphone practice a step further, check out our growing list of Buddhist iPhone apps.
That’s what I tell myself when I feel myself start to get restless. Waiting for the elevator. Waking up in the morning. Standing alone at a party.
And it doesn’t mean Never look at your phone. There are many moments throughout the day when it’s reasonable to do so. But I often look at my phone by default, even when there’s no reason to. Or, worse, I look at it because I’m avoiding something uncomfortable — like a squishy emotion.
When I try this new practice of not looking at my phone, I discover a lot. Sometimes, choosing not to look at my phone reminds me that there’s something I’m avoiding. Other times, it reminds me to relax and enjoy myself. And other times still, it prompts me to ask: what am I using this phone for?
Most of us have smartphones — literal supercomputers strapped to our hips. How are we using them? How are they using us? I find that when I start asking these questions, this object of distraction starts to become an object of meditation.
—Sam Littlefair, editor, LionsRoar.com
PS: If you want to take your smartphone practice a step further, check out our growing list of Buddhist iPhone apps.
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