I knew I was dependent on having a smart phone, but I knew it would be life-giving to set down the phone for a bit. A few weeks ago a friend invited me to a Great Banquet retreat where I had to leave my phone AND my wristwatch behind for three days.

I felt a bit wistful when I powered down my phone before I put it and my watch in the glove compartment before I met my friend and walked into the retreat.

Surviving three days without a cell phone went easier than I thought because the retreat staff were our “time keepers” and guided us where we needed to be.

The people I call or text the most knew where I was so that eased my mind and I wasn’t expecting any important phone calls, so I could just let down.

I actually enjoyed the ability to just be fully present with the people I was with and not be checking in with people elsewhere through calls, texts, and status posts. Three days of no phone enabled me to fully unplug from technology, so it has been a bit strange to plug back in.

The retreat made me pause, and it feels like I’ve been reset. I am choosing peace and trust more, and I’m enjoying the people I have around me more.

After the retreat ended, I turned my phone back on and didn’t have much on there…I didn’t miss anything big!
I stopped to buy gas for my car and the world just seemed noisy–there were advertisements blasting, music playing, so it was almost overwhelming. In spite of the noise, I chose to stay in the peace I had received from withdrawing for a time to be reset.
Try it! You never know what you might hear in the silence…

By M. H. Campbell

Copyright 2015