The Time I Forgot My Phone
21:03
I went on a long overdue friend date this afternoon, when disaster struck. When our food arrived, oh my gosh it looked so pretty that I had to take a picture - I started to rummage around in my bag for my phone and...it wasn't there!
*Cue the mini panic attack*
I knew I'd left it in the car, so the first thought my anxiety brain told me was that my car was going to get broken into and my phone was going to get stolen - I just couldn't shift that image from my head. The next thought was that I didn't have my phone; the object that doesn't leave my side, the photo taker of the pretty foods, my security. My friend actually suggested that we go back to the car to check that it was there, but I dismissed that with my final thought that was one from the rational side of my brain that puts things into perspective - this is a chance to fully immerse myself in what I'm doing without my phone distracting me. I also realised that the anxiety side of me was just over dramatising the situation, and the likelihood of my phone being stolen was quite slim in a multi-storey car park.
This was the mini phone detox that I've been wanting to do, but have been too scared to fully do. It just happened unexpectedly, which was probably the best way, as it forced me into it without me having to convince myself to do it.
Don't get me wrong it was definitely hard, I kept going to get my phone and then realising it wasn't there - to take a photo, to check the time, to check if I was popular. I love how we validate ourselves over how many people message us in a day, when in the grand scheme of things, who actually cares? The hardest time was when my friend went to the toilet, what do you do when you're alone in a public place without a phone? You just appreciate where you are, what you've got, enjoy the surroundings, and even people watch a little, maybe.
I'll tell you what though, the one time when I didn't have my phone, was the time that every single one of my three courses looked absolutely amazing, but you know what? Who cares? I'm always the one that jokingly says "If you didn't take a picture of your food, did you really eat it?" but I can definitely appreciate something without having photographic evidence that it happened, and so can you.
Luckily, my phone was in the car as I anticipated, and no, nobody had broken in to steal it - bad anxiety brain creating over dramatic scenarios in my head. I had 3 messages when I checked my Whatsapp, but I think I was more worried about my phone being stolen more than how many people had messaged me by that point to be honest.
It was wonderful to not have to worry about anything apart from where I was, who I was with and what I was eating. Pardon the pun, but it's definitely food for thought when it comes to future endeavours with friends, and I'm going to try a phone or social media detox at some point in the future too. Could you and do you go without your phone sometimes?
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