Smarter?

Sometimes I get mired in a world of questions, the big kind of questions. Where to live? How to live? What to do with my career? Do I even have a career at this point? Long term goals? Life goals? What do I really need in my life? And so on.

Big. Heavy. Weighty. No-quick-answers questions.

And sometimes I take those questions and go to my smart phone. It’s smart, right? So perhaps it is smart enough to help me answer big questions? I spend time scrolling around on various sites. I spend time looking through social media. I spend time skimming two-minute articles that promise to give me answers. I spend time looking at a smart phone thinking I might become smarter. Ha.

It never works.

If anything I suspect the smart phone makes me a bit dumber. I suspect the smart phone makes the questions and the eventual answers a bit muddier. I generally put the phone down feeling drained and filled at the same time – drained of energy and filled with muck.

If I were my own best friend I would tell myself to put down the phone. It will not answer my questions.

Instead of scrolling, go for a walk. Go for a swim. Find nature. Move.

Instead of skimming social media go meet someone in person. Have a phone call, have an inner dialogue with myself. Join a group of people. Open up.

Instead of skimming two-minute-miracle-cure articles, read a book. An actual book with a spine and pages. Dive deep. Then diver deeper. Learn something. Seek that which brings you joy.

Instead of filling my mind with endless smart phone clutter give it space. Give my mind nourishment in the form of nature and movement and people and learning. Then see what answers might arise to the big heavy questions.