The Reset
Arif Ahmad
I retraced my steps and checked every nook and corner, every which where way except for the ocean floor. It was gone for sure. My pictures, my connection to the internet and the rest of the world, everything. I had lost my cell phone. I felt devastated and my mood went from a high high to a low low.
I was out in the middle of nowhere, on day three of this Alaskan hunting and fishing adventure. Constantly shuffling between land and water, I had it in my shirt pocket and never saw it drop or heard a sound. I was on a logging trail when I realized it was missing. The last picture on it was the beautiful red snapper I had caught about thirty minutes ago. It felt as if my life had been sucked out of me. I felt awful just plain and simple.
I tried some psychotherapy, telling myself that this is not the worst which could have happened. Still out in the boonies having lost my pictures and not being able to get on the internet using the camp Wi-Fi was a bit too much and all too soon to handle.
And what about the daily dose of Facebook?
It rubbed in even more that out in the Alaskan wild I had no chance to replace it for the next several days. With whales, bears, and bald eagles against the magnificent backdrop, I was already missing my next selfie. I was withdrawing and clearly showing signs of a cell phone junkie.
Day two was perhaps a little better and day three even more so. My friends with me picked up the slack. Thank you, Dave, Steve, Chris and Kyle.
And then I surprised myself. By day five and six I started liking it.
In some ways coming off this cell phone addiction, I felt detoxified, cleansed and liberated.
I felt assured that I controlled my cell phone and not vice versa. It reminded me of the days gone by when there were none. Instead of taking endless pictures it made me absorb and appreciate the scenery. It forced me not to check the news and email for the umpteenth time each day and to not be consumed by the internet.
And thanks is due to my friend, Google, who had my back and had saved most of my pictures and contacts.
Now back home I am still riding this wave of empowerment, of control and this time around purposefully delaying getting the new phone. Ultimately I would have to get one though the Alaskan wilderness taught me a valuable lesson. In more than one way, it tested my body, my mind, my spirit.
It gave me a welcome reset.
Copyright 2015 The Optimist