Tethered On, Tuned Out: Thriving in a Smartphone World

[Everybody] Sing it with me (to the tune of Yellow Submarine by the Beatles)

“We all live in a smartphone world,

A smartphone world,

A smartphone world,

We all live in a smartphone world…”

1. The Wake-Up Call: Rice vs. My Screen

Our cat Rice convicted me this morning nudging my iPhone out of the way as he fought for my focused attention. He expressed his displeasure with a couple of pissy meows before jumping off my lap and looking up at me.

His glare said “Decide.”

He wanted me to make room for him. He yearned for me to take my eyes off the screen and pay attention to him—100 percent. Totally. Completely. Solely.

Convicting.

2. Uncovering the Sunday Stillness: What the World Looks Like Without Notifications

It’s dark outside on this cool Sunday morning. It doesn’t look like the neighborhood partied all night (not that it ever does). Adults adulting.

My phone is on silent. No rings, chirps, dings, or beeps. No notifications.

Free at last, free at last!!!

I’m quite sure that smartphones and advancements in technology were not what were foremost on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s mind when he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Terri is still sleeping. I’ve scooped the litter boxes and fed our indoor crew. The boys—Boss, Smoke, & Rice—are dining on salmon that I mushed up into fine bits, just like Terri says they like it. I have pushed it away from the center of the plate, making a circle, because I noticed they tend to eat all of it that way and they don’t jockey for position. This is a glimpse of our life with our cats. Hmm. “Our Life with Cats” sounds like a title for a new blog, huh?

3. The Micro-Decisions That Shape Our Days

Rice’s look demanded I choose. His eyes were pleading. “Put down the phone and pay attention to me.”

Many are the moments in our day when we are faced with deciding to be present or altogether here, but distracted.

Know what I mean, jellybean?

Do I check one more notification, read one more text, open one more email, OR do I pay attention to the who in front of me yearning for my affection and craving my undivided attention?

Decisions, decisions.

According to her article featured in the Harvard Business Review, Amanda Reill calculates that the average human makes nearly 35,000 decisions every single day.

35,000.

That’s a lot more than I thought.

Every time we say yes to our screens we say no to something else.

Rice’s nudge served as a reminder that I needed to put my phone (or other distractions) down more frequently. It’s the small decisions we make over time that form our habits and shape our relationships. Choose wisely.

4. Our Life with Cats (Joys of an Analog Life)

Maybe you’re a dog person …or you just love watching your goldfish swim in their tank. Whatever your animal of choice—I love dogs, too, BTW—our pet’s needs ground us in the present.

My wife, Terri, tends to the morning chores far more often than I do. They are part of her morning routine. I sometimes shut things down at the end of the day or take over the morning duties on my days off, usually on Sundays and Mondays.

Cleaning out the litter boxes, refilling bowls and plates with food, replenishing the water fountain, taking out the recycling, and sweeping the floor are rituals that come with adulting. It’s part of the “for better or worse” vows you took when you got married—not the fun stuff you envisioned when you fantasized about your honeymoon.

Pets remind us to slow down, sit, and pet for a moment. That’s really what thriving looks like. Remember Jesus in the boat?

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

5. Thriving in a Smartphone World: Finding Balance

Life comes with its share of high tides and low tides. There will be gentle breezes and windstorms. Highs and lows. There will always be something that demands our attention right now. There will always be another fire to put out, emergency to quell, or storm to calm.

There will always be something more urgent than this moment.

But…

It can wait.

Terri and I are going on a date this afternoon.

Confession:

I still love dating my wife.

We are going to go see the new Tom Petty rockumentary:

Being a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fan since the late 1970s (yes kids there was life on Planet Earth back then, I am looking forward to a late afternoon movie date with the love of my life.

Rice nudges me again. Pay attention.

6. Conclusion: The Choice to Be Present

Being present is a choice. It’s a decision we make. Too often, our phones and other digital devices interrupt our most meaningful connections.

Fun Fact: We all live in a smartphone world. While it’s not super realistic to abandon our phones entirely, thriving means being intentional about when and how we use them.

Establish some boundaries. It could be simple, like no phones during dinner. Perhaps, you don’t check your phone first thing when you wake up or you put your phone (or other digital device) down for the night after a certain time (like an hour before bed).

What are your “Rice Moments” that present you with the conundrum of paying attention to your phone or the person, pet, or memorable moment standing in front of you?

We all live in a smartphone world… But some of us are learning to look away.

I am grateful for Rice’s nudges this morning reminding me to put down my phone and pay attention. That’s what thriving looks like!

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Hey friend! Before you go, be sure to check out my blogging brother David’s response to my invitation to collaborate on a digital conversation.

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Until my next post…

Remember:
God is good. All the time. 

No matter what.

Know you are loved.

Praying for you. Praying for America.

Let us pray for those among us who are serving in political office. May the Lord bless them with wisdom, discernment, and knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Love, peace, and joy,

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™

#JesusStrong