A couple days ago, I woke up and my phone was dead. It vibrated, but the screen remained black. Nothing fixed it. I ordered a replacement and resigned myself to wait.

In the next two days, I marveled at how necessary my phone had become in my daily life. Without it, I couldn’t enter my workplace, which required a phone app to unlock the doors. I couldn’t listen to music or podcasts on my commute. I couldn’t use 2FA to easily log into websites. I couldn’t track my sets at the gym. I had to rely on a friend to travel via Uber and order me food. I couldn’t perform my end-of-day rituals easily. I couldn’t call people while I walked, or check information in the middle of a conversation. It was oddly liberating.

I have a new phone now. I’m glad to be back, but I feel like I’ve learned something valuable about my experience. Phones are wonderful and I am dependent. I choose to create rituals and practices that are dependent on this external part of myself. I’m glad I could examine this intention. Let me not become attached to practices I may not want.