Conscious living letter #2
on balancing digital usage and our reliance on it, and a creative date!
I am back again with one of my conscious living letters, sharing my musings between my long essays. You can find the first one here:
May seemed to sneakily pass me by, with a mix of fleeting work days and extended weekends. In Germany, most public holidays crowd into May, giving it a unique rhythm. This year, thanks to the auspicious positions of public holidays, either falling on a Thursday, forcing one to take Friday off for a four-day weekend, or falling on a Monday for an automatic extension, there were many extended weekends.
On one of the long weekends, we brought the kids to a Bauernhof Urlaub (holiday on a farm) in the Blackforest. It is very convenient because it is only a 30-minute drive away from home; that’s the perk of living next to this famous forest. We do not have animals at home, living in an apartment and all, so it was nice to have a closer encounter with them. Also, I was pleasantly surprised that we managed daily 1.5-hour hikes (completed in double the time) with two small children. We will definitely be doing more of it as the days get warmer!
Anyway, my best friend gave a feedback on my previous conscious living letter. She said that coming up with nine things each time would be a lot for me. Of course, my best friend is right. Who else would be there to tell you in the face when you try to overachieve again?
Still keeping in the spirit of three, I will be sharing whatever I have in the three areas—conscious living, writing, and sharing!
For conscious living
Digital awareness and balance
Digital awareness has been on my mind a lot lately. I still feel the allure of my phone every time I have a bit of idleness. Waiting for my cup of coffee? Phone. My kids are miraculously playing with each other without trouble. Phone. Waiting for a website to load. Phone. My husband staring at his phone while we lounge on the couch after a long day, when the kids are finally in bed. Phone.
I want to be intentional and present, especially with my kids and husband. Ingrid shared how she reduced her phone usage in April and offered great tips.
Incidentally, one of my favorite podcasts, Happiness, by Laurie Santos, recently discussed Digital Balance, which focuses on balancing “using the phone” vs. “the phone using you.”
The good ol’ camera
During our Blackforest holiday, once, I wanted to capture a funny moment but couldn’t because I had purposefully left my phone in the apartment to spend uninterrupted time with my kids. Like most people nowadays, my phone is also my camera. This made me realize how we are not only addicted to our phones but also very reliant on them.
I’m now considering digging out my old digital camera to take pictures with. It feels nostalgic, like going back to the “old times,” even though it was only less than a decade ago that I switched to using the phone camera because it became good enough and is arguably much more convenient. Technology is definitely moving fast, and we may get swept along without noticing it.
For writing
Creative date
I read about taking a creative date from Melissa-Jane Fogarty (Nguyen) a while back and thought I should get one myself soon, but the opportunity hasn’t arise. Until last Sunday, after a short bicycle tour and a relaxing lunch at an Italian restaurant with a playground for the kids (oh, the little things we rejoice in as parents!), we stopped at a forest playground in Freiburg. While parking our bikes, I spotted a building with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing what seemed to be an exhibition. Intrigued, I went off to check it out once the kids settled in playing. It was the exhibition by Lore Bert called Stationen (Stations).
The exhibition was small but offered a taste of Lore Bert’s work. This focused digest was refreshing, especially compared to my last art experience at the Venice Biennale, which, though meaningful, was overwhelming. Analyzing Bert’s art, which felt childlike yet profound, inspired me. I notice many artists evolve from simplicity to complexity and then back to a pure form, changed by their journey.
I aspire to evolve my writing similarly. Though I do not know where I am in my journey, I intend to keep writing until I reach its purest yet profound form.
For sharing
This could be a cheat because I am sharing Sarah’s amazing list in her On Rest and Finding Inspiring Creators. I am still reading through some of what she shared, and have bookmarked a few things to listen to when I am at the gym again!
Also, continuing on digital awareness and how technology is influencing our lives, I highly recommend checking out The Convivial Society by L. M. Sacasas. I believe it was one of my very first substack subscriptions years ago!
Please share your thoughts:
Do you keep a digital balance? If yes, how?
Have you been on a solo creative date? How was it?
My kid lost my smart phone for a month. First, I thought I couldn’t live without it, but I quickly adapted… I really should consider going back to a flip phone, but the smart phone just replaces so many gadgets for me! Looking forward to hearing more about your phone journey ❤️
I loved your mentions of life in Germany. I lived there for a year and loved the forests. It is great that your kids are getting used to long walks. That will help keep them away from the phone.
I personally think we need to get used to keeping the phone with us, but not over-using it. As you say, the camera in the phone is great (though I also think we often take a photo when we should just be looking), and there is your address book, compass, calculator etc. etc.
We need to learn to use the phone as a useful tool, and only occassionally use it for recreation; perhaps only use it at times when it would be acceptable to read a book.