PSP is an abbreviation I dreamed up during yoga practice in the last few days. It stands for “Positive+Simple=Peace” If you follow me on FB you know that recently I threw my iPhone into the washer with a load of whites! Brilliant – yes? Yeah…not so much! An honest and easily made, yet costly mistake. When I first discovered it I had that sinking feeling in my stomach…you know – the one where you realize how badly you’ve screwed up and aren’t sure whether to cry or be angry. I cried, got pissed off and felt miserable, stunned actually, for a few hours – even after I knew my man Dan had ordered me a new phone, newer, bigger and better! That did not make me feel better.
As the day wore on I felt less upset but still annoyed with myself for allowing it to happen. For the first few hoursI fretted over what I might miss. FOMO? Yes, I’d say so. Of course I immediately posted on FB what had happened and notified my husband via email that I would be unreachable by phone. Oh, I got sympathy from my FB friends, emails from my kids saying, “just go buy a new one” and an abundance of emails from said man as the day turned into evening.
Funny thing is….as the hours passed I felt less and less worried or stressed about not having a phone at my disposal. It felt simple and easy – no worrying about where the phone was or what every sound or ding announced. I recalled years before when I didn’t have a cell phone, when I left my home to run and pick up a carton of milk and never thought about what I might miss, only the task at hand. Then there were the days of knowing I would come home to an answering machine and if I’d missed an important call, the message would be there – so really I wouldn’t miss anything!
After washing my iPhone, the first couple of times I ran out for errands, of course I thought, “where’s my phone?”. Quickly I’d remember I didn’t have one, pause for a moment of why, and off I went. The occasion that stood out most was when I prepared to get out of the car and head into my yoga practice. It is customary at that time I turn the ringer off, I mean who wants to hear their special ringtones blasting through the silence of shavasana? Yes, it was at that very moment that I said to myself, “Ha – you don’t have a phone – don’t worry”. And I didn’t from that moment on – thanks to yoga.
I discovered a feeling of peace. I wasn’t going to miss out on a darn thing! What I was about to do was spend an hour of time that I set aside for me. In yoga the teacher talked about positive thoughts and how we have choices to use those thoughts to get through our day or how we can pick negative and stressful thoughts as we take on the day.
At the end of the practice I didn’t worry about who or what I may have missed by not having a phone in my possession. I rather liked going about my day without my cell phone. Important conversation was carried on through emails or with my husband, face to face, when he arrived home, from a long day at work, and I survived.
I left practice that day feeling uplifted, calm, happy, positive and peaceful. Would you agree we are all addicted to our phones to some extent? I think we are. This lesson taught me that it’s okay to put the phone down, turn the ringer off and “talk” to others, enjoy the world around me not through the lens of my iPhone camera, and most importantly that FOMO for me is not important. If you aren’t up to snuff on all of the current social media catch words or phrases, FOMO stands for “Fear of missing out”. It is real for some but not for me.
When my new – bigger, better, smarter smart phone arrived in my mailbox I didn’t even open the package for several hours. I was good with that. Part of me wanted to stay in the dark ages, as some of you might consider living without a phone to be. Part of me knew I’d enjoy playing with my newest gadget. Truth is I do like my new phone, but what I like even better is knowing that I am able to live peacefully with positive thoughts no matter how dismal a situation like pitching the phone into the hot water wash may have felt at the time.
This my friends is the main benefit of practicing yoga! If you haven’t tried it – DO! You’ll gain benefits beyond your imagination! I’m positive!
P.S. The Nutri Ninja giveaway is still open – pop over HERE to enter!
