sameness // lpII 2-year review
It's not been a straight-line experience since I joined the Light community.
Tech-addict relapses include (but are not limited to): an over-reliance upon a MacBook, refreshing the podcast page in the absence of news or social media, pouring over the lp2 reddit to learn how others use their dumbphones.
Months after the honeymoon phase, my brain and behavior rebelled in a grasping attempt to experience dopamine hits from my new-fashioned, b&w, e-ink display. Stuck in a self-imposed, pre-internet prison, I wondered about what it would be like to return to iLife someday (fanatic, laptop monitoring of Apple news and events didn't help this state).
All this to say, not having a smartphone is not an effortless lifestyle (I haven't even mentioned software glitches and hardware limitations)...
... but it is worth it.
I've learned that sameness is not a bad thing.
We're obsessed with consumption, a 24-hour news cycle, and limitless "fresh" content online. Stagnation is postured as the villain. No change marks no progress- and by no means should you stand in the way of progress. The era of upgrades and improvements, keeping up with the Joneses, the rat race- these are not abstracts. They live in our spirits, malforming the desires of the heart to the desires of the world.
We've become content with discontentment, and we're stuck.
Ditching your smartphone doesn't get you unstuck (relapses mean one still has work to do), and sameness can be a danger (stagnation) if you become too comfortable. I'm grateful and better for the attention and focus Light allows. I believe in the mission of a phone designed to be used as little as possible.
And when people stare at this backwards-futuristic brick in wonder or stare at me like I've come out of the woods in a ghillie suit, I am content with seeing the same black and white choices I choose to remain.
What did you notice today? ///