For Me, Phones and Nature Don’t Mix

I try and walk every day, at least two miles. It’s great for me, and my dog Maxwell loves to get out and frolick in nature, chase chipmunks and take frequent dips in Donner Lake, one of our go-to summertime spots for walking and swimming.

Living in a mountain community, the walks are especially beautiful and tranquil, amongst the trees and in nature. It’s my place to get out, clear my head, take deep breaths, stretch, say hello to so many friendly walkers I meet. In the summer, with the temperature frequently in the 80s, I don’t have any pockets while walking, so aside from a singular car key and a leash, everything else is left in the car — including my phone.

Yesterday it was a bit cooler than usual, so I wore my light down vest, enabling — good word, enabling — me to take along my iPhone. After having not walked with it all summer long, it felt a bit of a foreign object in the woods, but also a luxury to be able to bring it along.

What a mistake. What a difference it made in my mental, spiritual and even physical focus — and not in a good way. Instead of being present and enjoying the surroundings, I was staging, framing and snapping photos, contemplating my social media “audience” and how these photos might please them — and, of course, what my friends and family might think of me for taking them — how it adds to or detracts from my persona, reputation and personal brand. Checking Twitter instead of watching my step — wondering what else was going on in the world at that moment, instead of what was going on in my immediate surroundings — making sure I wasn’t missing out on something else going on, instead of making sure I didn’t miss what was right in front of me, and all around me (a lot of beauty, as it turns out).

The toggling back and forth gave me a headache. All of this connecting, instead of just being. “Being” meaning soaking it in, feeling grateful to be there, to be in that moment, to smell the pines, listen to the ripples of the water lapping the edge of the lake, watching the SUPers glide over the glassy morning water. Watching little Maxwell enjoy some of his happiest moments of the day. Letting my mind wander, to completely embrace the beauty of nature and appreciate being there.

The contrast between walking with my phone, and without it, could not have been more clear. At the end of the walk I felt depleted instead of restored, disappointed in myself for bringing the phone along, for being obsessed with checking it versus checking in with my surroundings.

Midway through the walk I decided that if it was safe, I would no longer walk with my phone. There are trade offs for sure — the safety of having a phone signal if needed, missing a photo opportunity or a phone call. Not capturing my steps or walking distance. But with the phone, I might as well have stayed home, it was that lesser of an experience. We are all plugged in so often — if there’s an opportunity in the day to refresh and restore, I’m going to take it. For me, it’s my walk. And my phone is no longer going to be a part of that experience.