#SolitudeChallenge
This weekend, I took 30 minutes to do a #solitudechallenge. The challenge consists of sitting without technology or materials for half an hour. Initially, I thought it would be easy, but then I remembered how when I turn my phone to airplane mode for a one hour flight, all I can think of is needing to check Pinterest. It's become habit to slide right and click on the little envelope when I have some time to kill. Needless to say, this was a challenge for me.
I sat in a public area and started watching people walk by. It's always interesting to see who is walking by and try to figure out what they are like. After a few minutes of people watching, I started thinking about the things I wanted to get done before the week started. When I have down time, I always have a feeling that I need to be doing something, anything. Otherwise, I feel like I'm wasting time. So, when I begin to mentally create my to-do list, I want to reach for my phone. I've developed a habit of writing down my thoughts and lists of things to do in my notes section of my phone. I tend to quickly forget the goals I want to accomplish in a day without writing them down. My phone becomes that reminder to check the list and work through it. In my mind, I start to think about what constitutes as an exception to the challenge. If I just write down my list, it's not USING my phone. It's just recording my thoughts.
(Not my iPad, but basically what my thoughts look like in my mind.)
After mentally talking myself down from picking up my phone, I had the urge to listen to music. I realized how most of the time, I'm listening to something. There's always noise around me. Whether it be the television, music, or just chit chat. When I wake up in the morning, I turn on music. It sets the tone for the day. Then, at my desk, I listen to music while I work. When I get in the car, I turn on the radio. When I go for a run, I put my headphones in and take off. Sitting without music to divert my attention, allowed me to connect with the surroundings.
Overall, I survived the challenge! (ok, that was sarcasm.) But, it was quite difficult. I now know how addicted I am to having constant communication and information at my fingertips. I rely on notifications, alerts, dings, and rings from my devices to keep my life on my schedule. After taking this challenge, I think I'll try to do this on a regular basis. It's nice to look up from the screen, take in my surroundings, and just be.
