Do you ever feel like the universe is conspiring to tell you a specific piece of information? But also, that the universe is kind of concerned that you aren’t listening? Or maybe that you have your airpods in? Or that the noise around you might be too loud to hear a whisper, so the universe stands on a table in a silent library and shouts at you?
Yea, that’s what is happening to me right now.
I’ve been making a list of blog post ideas on a sticky note I have stuck to the wall above my desk. The first two ideas:
- Why we need fewer screens...
- Cell phones in classrooms...
Right next to that list is my 2025 focus phrase (Begin again...) and what that phrase looks like as it plays out in my life. Under personal growth, I have written “Less screen time” which for me should look like no phone before bed or before school.
But these are two of my own writings, ideas that are on my mind, right? Well, apparently I haven’t been paying close enough attention to my own goals, so the universe upped her game today.
I start my mornings by reading from a book that focuses on writing as a craft. Right now, I’m reading 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Around. Today, cup of coffee in hand, highlighter poised to capture nuggets, I read this:
“Whenever I travel now and I find that I’m gazing at my phone for too long, I whisper to myself, ‘Look up.’ That’s my trick. That’s my phrase to relieve myself from being sucked into a screen, to be out in the world more. I’m always reminding myself to do that. Be curious about everything, I tell myself. Look up” (113).
Guys. The universe has spoken. At least she has spoken to me.
One of my goals for the month of March is to not be so sacred about my writing. I like to be in my office (really I want to be in my shoffice, but she’s in Rogers so that’s not an option right now), with a cup of beverage, surrounded by a quiet house. I have five kids though, and quiet is hard to come by. Also, I have five kids, so hiding away in the office all day really isn’t an option. I need to be out and about with my family, but I also need to be writing, producing words, telling stories.
So, for this month, I’m going to look up from my phone as often as possible. I’m going to leave it in my bedroom and not be as available. And, I’m going to write. Snippets and stories, blog posts and poetry. I’m going to have my notebook in the living room and in my bedroom and maybe even in the kitchen (but I’m a messy cook, so maybe not?) and I’m going to treat writing as a practice that I’m building.
Is there anything that your cell phone is keeping you from looking up to enjoy? I think it’s going to be worth it. Don’t be afraid.
Look up.
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A few years ago I deleted all games off my phone and downloaded the Kindle app. I knew I was spending way too much time playing games, so I replaced those apps with something a little “healthier”. It has been the biggest step in increasing my reading because I now have a book with me everywhere I go,
When my kids were little, it was video cameras. I found myself missing the event, trying to film it. Yes, look up! Wise words.