Sitting with a hard feeling for five minutes instead of scrolling past it is a small act of courage.
STILLNESS
WHAT THIS MEANS
A phone is an exit door that is always within reach, and the feeling you leave by it does not go anywhere. It waits, usually until you are tired, and then arrives larger. Staying put for five minutes is not wallowing, it is letting the thing run its length.
Next time you reach for the screen in a bad moment, put it face down and set a timer instead. Name what the feeling is in one word and let it be there without fixing it. Five minutes is short enough to manage and long enough to prove it passes.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Which feeling do you scroll away from instead of sitting with?
MORE IN SOLITUDE & SELF-KNOWLEDGE
- You think the whole cafeteria noticed you eating alone. Most of them were worried about their own table.
- “You’ve changed” can sting. Sometimes it’s an accusation. Sometimes it’s just someone noticing you grew.
- The bus ride home after a loss is long and quiet. Use it to figure out what you’d change, not who to blame.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.