“The unexamined life is not worth living” –Socrates
It’s quite easy to fill our lives with a never ending stream of things to watch, listen, or do. Whether it be checking social media, surfing the web, listening to music or podcasts, watching TV, or even just playing with our smartphones, there are often numerous options to keep us occupied if we so choose. And although all these things can help us from feeling “bored,” they can also distract us from a valuable practice that has the potential to bring greater depth and focus to our lives.
When we are constantly engaged with external media and gadgets, with no breaks or space in between, we miss out on the benefits of learning to be still and to reflect on our own life and situation. If we’re always preoccupied with listening and watching and playing with something else, we may never take time to think a little deeper about what’s going on within.
But disconnecting–taking a break to simply be–can be hard. (It reminds me a clip I saw of Louis C.K. talking about why he hates smartphones.) Stillness, quiet, a lack of external inputs, can be intimidating. There’s a chance we’ll come face to face with emotions or thoughts we don’t want to do deal with. And so the temptation is to immediately pull out our phone, check social media, or find some other escape. Not that any of these things are bad in themselves. But the question is, Are we able to simply be by ourselves for a period of time, and not have to be watching, listening, or doing something? If not, why not?
Taking time to be still can help us get a better glimpse of what’s going on in our life. But turning this into a habit can be challenging. Especially when starting out. But choosing to take that time even if it’s just a few minutes at first, is worth the difficulty. Perhaps it’s occasionally going for a drive without listening to anything. Or sometimes taking a walk without a phone.
It’s important to remember that choosing to make space for deeper thinking, feeling, and reflection, isn’t an end in itself. Ultimately. it should lead to a more grounded and intentional life.
Learning to disconnect not only provides an opportunity to come face to face with emotions and feelings that we may want to avoid (but shouldn’t), but it also gives us a chance to recognize the incredible gift of this thing called life. There is so much to be grateful for, and so many things to learn along the way. But there’s much we might miss if we never take time to slow down and simply be.