I have been a long time iPhone owner and my home screen has gone through dozens of revisions of what wins the prized spots on this first page (of two) that is always within arms reach. I try to run my app repertoire as lean as possible limiting it to only the essentials I use fairly often. Like most, my scheme is to keep the things I use most on the front page, and things I use "second most" just a tap or two away.
Having an iPhone is a blessing and a curse because it leaves me wondering how I went without it before, but also wondering if there will be a time in which I could be less dependent on it. It's my memory, my link to work, my office on the go, my book, my music source, my to-do list, my alarm clock, my fitness tracker, my podcast player, my RSS reader, my GPS, my Bible, my calculator, my camera, my collaboration tool, my e-mail, my stock broker, my calendar, my catalog, my link to everything at any moment. The only thing that stands in the way of me and the knowledge I desire is a few taps on a handheld robot affixed to an increasingly dense amount of pixels tucked ever-so-usefully behind a glass screen.
I have gone through seasons where my phone was a toy. It was a way for me to always have something to do. God forbid I ever get bored for more than 8.6 seconds.
But the more I become aware of things that are constantly demanding my attention, the more I realize how much I've let those things win me over. I've discovered I carried this stigma that if I'm always busy, then I can't be unproductive. However, an iPhone allows you to never be bored, but at the same time accomplishing nothing.
In creative work that I'm a part of everyday, I realize how important it is for my brain to get bored sometimes. I need to let my brain set all the clutter and noise aside to bask in the silence of nothing. I think of times I could just sit outside on our porch and think, and the time since I've last done anything like that is pathetic.
I've become more aware of the invaluable power of boredom. It is in that time quiet, of hush, of silence, of internal solitude where you can find a place where God can meet you. It's a place to discover what you've been missing all around you. There is so much to think of, to see, to study, to learn, and I don't want to miss it by constantly burying my face in a handheld robot meant to "enhance" my life hoping it will give me the answers I long for.
Though li'l iPhone has its place, it too must be in moderation. Though it can do a lot of things, it is not meant to do all things. I want to be present, I want to make memories I won't need to tweet about to remember. It's time to get crazy, look up from the blue-glowing handheld robot, and live a life worth living.
Here's to the crazy ones…
Here's To The Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world—are the ones who DO.
—Steve Jobs