Cell Phone Slave Declares Freedom

In 1986, I was sitting with an elderly lady of society in New York City when her telephone rang. The telephone was located on the chairside table where she sat. There was no answering machine attached. I asked her if she wanted to take the call fearing she might have thought it impolite to answer while we chatted. (I also admit that the ringing anoyed me but that's another story.)

"I had the telephone installed for my convenience. It is not convenient right now for me to answer it." We waited and the phone stopped ringing.

Flash forward, 1998, I'm sitting in an outdoor cafe in Santa Monica California with my friend Micheleangelo. (Yes there are living people today with that name.) His cell phone rang for the third time during our brief visit and yet again, I wait several minutes, listening to his side of what I consider an inane conversation. I'm getting pretty ticked off. Not only are these people interrupting him but they are interrupting me. I drop some money on the table, pretend to look at my watch and mouth the words, "I gotta go. I'm going to be late" and I cut out.

Flash forward another 9 years, it's 2007 and I am sitting in a Thai restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA. I've been working endlessly on my career, building my work-life balance consulting practice. I'm with my partner Elihu, someone I've barely seen in the last two weeks. Between his work schedule and mine, these moments alone are rare. My cell phone rings. I had been waiting all day for a call from a potential client. As I reach for my cell phone, I feel like I'm outside my body watching the scene unfold. As I pull the cell phone from my pocket, I remeber that society lady and Michelangelo and without looking to see who was calling, I press the button on the side of phone ignoring the call and tossing it back into my pocket.

Elihu asks me why I didn't take the call and I tell him, "You are the most important person in my life. There is no one I want to or need to talk to right now more than you."

The server, who had been waiting to take our order, was stunned. She actually had a tear in her eye. "That is so sweet," she said. Elihu beamed and we had a fantastic meal.

Part of finding bliss and balancing all of the things that go on in our lives is understanding what is and what is not important and when it's important. Think about how often you answer your phone and it isn't anyting important at all. Think how many times you have to stop doing something that is important in order to take a call that is not.

Bliss
Joseph