Intro
Last week my good friend Allison posted on Instagram about a Look up Challenge she was doing. Dr. Katie Penry started The Look Up Challenge. It is a 7 day guided challenge and starts every 7 days.
Dr. Penry talks a lot about mom's and their interactions with their young children. So for you parents out there this is directed specifically to you. I do not have children and I still enjoyed listening to this podcast.
I struggle with social media and how I interact with it and the influence it has in my life so I decided to take the challenge.
DAY 3
Personal inventory
She asked us to ask some thought provoking question to both about ourselves and our interactions with others.
What do my posts say about me?
What unmet needs to I have?
How can I use my physical community more?
Is there healing in my sharing?
Have others ever been hurt or felt neglected by my media use?
I know I have felt that way by others media use. Am I doing that to others? Relationships are my number one priority and if I am neglecting people that I am with for those that are on accessed through technology I need to make some changes.
There is a time and place for everything and I have enough alone time when I can interact with those that are at a distance that I need to connect with through my phone.
What if someone needs me?
What if someone doesn’t need me?
She share a great quote by Brene Brown, who I have read extensively.
"I only share when I have no unmet needs that I am trying to fill. I firmly believe that being vulnerable with a larger audience is only a good idea if the healing is tied to the sharing, not to the expectations I might have for the response I get." Brene Brown
SOUNDS
Today as I made my mile walk to work and the mile back to my car I noticed sounds! With my awareness on my visual surroundings the auditory surroundings became so much more acute. There is a natural sound track/ a symphony of sounds.... if we stop and listen
I was really amazing to hear:
the myriad of different birds
the sounds of students riding their bikes and skateboards across campus
a distant siren and airplane
I also heard the purr of car engines and tires on crackling on the gravel
In one location that I walk past everyday I noticed the hum of the industrial air conditioners
My favorite was the carillon bells ringing at some distant location on campus at 5:00pm as I was leaving my office
I stopped to capture the bird sounds with this video
Pictures
A few picture from my walk
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Look Up Challenge posts
Look Up Challenge Day 1
Look Up Challenge Day 2
I love this idea... and I am always for putting down one's phone and living in the real world, not listening to something through your earphones, talking aimlessly on the phone or been glued to it as you walk.
I turned my phone off a number of years ago... I love it. Best thing I did. I started realising that I would run to it when it made a sound - call or text. I never had apps, not social media ones on my phone. Then it dawned on me... why do I stop what I'm doing when I'm busy to check my phone just because it made a sound. And how many messages aren't important... I would say most of them. It was then I decided to take back my life, my time, the things important to me and stop responding to every sound. I made an effort to not answer or look until I was ready, after I had finished doing what I was doing etc and sometimes that could be hours later.
I started to like it, I was getting my life back, more of my time back. My use dropped so low that I decided to just switch it off. People ask me how I cope without a phone, I now respond perfectly well, better than most I would say. : )
Wow that is amazing. No phone. I have had my phone on vibrate for years so sometimes I hear it, not all the time. I think it is really important, why do we drop what were are doing to respond to a sound. I recently got a watch, so now I will not be distracted by my phone when I check the time. I do love the camera on my phone. Maybe I will get a separate camera? Good things to think about. I love the idea of being present!
My husband has never had a phone, he refuses to have one but I much prefer not to have one. It is crazy that we instantly respond to any sound coming from them, they certainly are a distraction. Yes I read that, a Hello Kitty one! My daughter loves Hello Kitty!!
Hahaaa, yes I always feel like the odd one out when I get a camera out of my bag to take a photo... nothing wrong with it though. Yes! I always say nothing is that urgent, other parents always look at me like I'm crazy as they feel the need to be contactable 24/7 by their kids. If something is wrong there is always someone else they could go to. If they can't reach me (and I'm usually at home anyway) they could call my husband on his landline in his office. If hes not in his office they can leave a message, he's never away for long.
My Mum always takes her phone walking and not to listen to music either... I'll call and she'll be huffing and puffing and I'll say to her what are you doing? She tell me I'm on my walk. I always say to her well why are you answering your phone then, you're busy! She always says can I call you back and I say to her, see you could not answer and still know I've called and still call me back when you are ready. She doesn't seem to get it.
I like "me" time... where I'm not contactable and no one can bother me : )