Phone Fast

A couple of months ago, I decided that I would reserve one day a month for a food fast. Nothing but water and hot tea all day long. I usually try to pick the most active day of the week- the one that is chock-a-block full of things to do so that I do not have time to focus on food or lack thereof. It is a truly grounding experience.

These past couple of days have been like a phone fast for me. I have been on phone fasts before- whenever I travel, in fact. The phone fasts can last weeks- but like my food fasts, I keep myself occupied in another activity. For some reason, a phone doesn't even come to mind when I am barreling down a class V rapid or hiking along a coast through village after village.

I am trying to employ similiar tactics that I use in my food fast for my phone fast. At the first thought of hunger, I usually take the time for a simple prayer of gratitude. Likewise, when I think about making a phone call, I settle into a moment of thankfulness. If the hunger turns into a growling stomach, I will make a cup of tea. Writing an email, posting a blog or talking to myself gets me through the aching moments that I really want to call someone. When I get a wafting aroma of delicious food, I smile and revel in the nourishing fact that I am surviving! Similiarly, the sound of a phone ringing makes me smile and realize that I can, in fact, make it through the day without talking on the phone. Though I am not distracted by the excitement of travel this time, I am still granted the opportunity to look at things in a different light.