It has been 10 amazing years since I walked into Verizon and shut off my cell phone, 10 years of living wired in a wireless world. Admittedly it was easier back then and has gotten harder over time. Pay phones have disappeared, gas station attendants no longer know directions, and almost everything and anything wants to text message to verify who you claim to be.
The largest catalyst for change has been communicating with groups while organizing and leading international trips. So, I have gone “rewireless” and joined a disjointed world again. An end to a decade of staying on the path, or as my friend Brian might say, an end to being a martyr to the cause of true connection in a disconnected world.
You might recall from my previous prose, Living Wired in a Wireless World, some of the reasoning behind that decision 10 years ago. It might also come to mind how I wrote the missive sitting on a plane watching my neighbors, one drawing a picture and one phone swiping, one connected to the present and one anywhere but. Amazingly, today is the same, I sit on a plane with pen and paper writing my thoughts. Incredibly one of my neighbors is reading a book. Little glimmers of hope in an over electronic world.
My new cell phone won’t accept calls from people who aren’t on my contact list and all notifications are turned off, these decisions stemming from some of the reasons for disconnecting originally. But now I can use navigation while traveling and participate in group chats about what the next day of adventure holds. As you might surmise, it is a bittersweet time for me indeed.
Mostly I suppose it is my friends who rejoice the most in my capitulation. The ones who often lamented an inability to reach me when they wanted. The flattery of their complaints was appreciated but now silenced.
You know me by now, most of you having worked with me for over two decades, my life always worn on my sleeve. My goal is to live vibrantly, to reach the end of my days looking back with a smile. A warm vision of an electric life well lived by my own standard and desire. Likewise, I think we all feel similar.
My interest in life blossoms mostly when I am learning something new. Each year I roll out a few new things to undertake, 10 years ago it was to learn how to be more fully connected to the world. I’d say I learned a lot about myself over this time. There was less distraction and opportunity to pull my attention away from the now, more time dwelling in my own thoughts. And for that, I am immensely grateful.
Being especially present over the past four years I have learned to skydive and hang glide, taken up white water kayaking and downhill mountain biking. Still learning too, these activities take a lifetime to master. This year I started Tai Chi classes. All this in the pursuit of leaving no stone unturned while living vibrantly, tomorrow just an adventure waiting to happen.
Two years ago, I took up new lessons in a deeply seeded insecurity of mine which turned into a special gift for my wife. Mostly I share with you to nudge others, encouraging people to follow suit, to put down the phones and pursue dreams. There are so many small things we can do to create vibrancy in our lives, young and old alike, however you personally define it.
Our personal dreams don’t live on phones and computers, and we won’t find it bearing witness to other people’s electronic lives. We will find it, my friends, in our hearts and in our minds expressed through the external pursuit of learning, engaging, and loving all that we do.
From me to you, here is a toast to living without self-imposed boundaries, to being vibrant.
From the desk of
Erik Lawrence CFP®
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