Last week, I mentioned to some of my friends that I think we as a society need to “silence” our use of phones a bit. I don’t think that we should constantly be listening to music or feel that we should be looking at our phones when we have a spare moment. I don’t think we were built to have a near-constant feed of sound and information present to us. To help limit my own use of my phone, there are two activities I especially enjoy doing to help me rewind and ground myself: journaling and hiking.
Whether I am writing down my thoughts on the day or layering on obscene amounts of tape, ink, and paper while junk journaling, this activity acts as a wonderful creative outlet. Usually, I will listen to some music as I write or paste, which helps me to wind down from my day and relax. Not only is it enjoyable to create Pinterest-worthy collages on my pages or provide ridiculous commentary on an experience, but it’s always fun to go back through the journal and relive events from two or three years ago, and see how parts of me have changed and stayed the same. Also, journals are the perfect places to put all those stickers you’ve been waiting to use.
Secondly, I love to hike, or simply take a walk. As spring inches closer, you will probably find me in the Natural Lands in the afternoon walking barefoot along Heath Creek or smelling the crabapple blossoms more often. Usually, I don’t listen to any music or podcasts while I walk, and instead try to pay attention to the sounds around me — the birds, the wind, the creek. I always come back from a walk feeling genuinely refreshed and joyful, having taken my time to stop and examine mushrooms, flowers, leaves; in short, to linger in nature and fully surround myself with it. Walks allow me to literally step away from the busyness and events that seem to swamp my schedule.
I challenge and encourage you to find an activity that allows you to press pause on your electronics, and to use those activities to recharge yourself and to embrace a slow, steady moment right where you are.
