A prose-style essay I wrote on what we lose when we reach for our phones and what we need to reclaim boredom, creativity, imagination, and the magic that happens when we are present for those little in-between moments.
(Just a note: The last three photos are of me. I’d appreciate it if they weren’t reused without my permission. The others are public stock images.)
What did we do in those little, small spaces, those in-between moments, before we filled them with checking our phones?
When we were having lunch by ourselves.
Or waiting in line.
Taking a subway,
or sitting at an airport gate.
Or simply… waiting.
We stared into space.
We thought about our lives and the people we loved.
We reflected more.
We processed that last conversation we had.
We made up stories in our heads.
We imagined the people we wanted to become.
We wrestled with the problem in our lives.
We stumbled upon an idea or solution.
We remembered something important we needed to say.
We dreamed up the next step to take towards our goals.
Or we simply just let our minds breathe a bit more.
Because when we fill every in-between moment with a glowing screen—scrolling, tapping, consuming, in a cycle of nonstop stimulation—we lose more than time.
We lose ourselves.
We lose our connection to others.
We forget our hopes and dreams.
We forget about what makes us unique,
And instead, our personalities become a collage of the content we have been consuming.
We become a compilation of memes, trends, and TikToks.
Some of the greatest novels, visionary ideas, and groundbreaking works of art were discovered in the mind of someone who was bored.
From them staring out a train window.
Or sitting alone on a park bench.
Or lying in bed with nothing to do but think.
And letting their mind wander into places that it hasn’t been before.
Screen addiction is taking that would-be inventor or next great novelist into a passive consumer.
It feeds them a personality instead of letting them discover who they really are.
-
We are raising a generation who may never truly know themselves
Because they are always looking outwards,
A generation who may lose the will and motivation to follow a dream,
because their attention span has been whittled down to mere seconds.
Who can’t finish a book
Or struggle to learn a new skill.
Who forgets how to look into another’s eyes,
have a heart-to-heart conversion,
And maybe even fall in love.
Because these screens are not only robbing kids of their childhood.
It’s robbing humanity of the next wave authors, innovators and visionaries.
People who need stillness and imagination, not constant simulation,
to be with their thoughts,
to think of something that they haven’t seen in a tweet or TikTok yet.
Perhaps some will never realize it until they are on their deathbed,
missing those who have already gone,
wishing they had put the phone down,
and truly connected with them while they still could.
-
But if you’re reading this now,
It’s not too late.
-
To just wait.
To not grab your phone.
and instead
stare into space
To imagine something new.
To process that last conversation you had.
To think of a solution to the problem you’ve been wrestling with
To follow your dreams.
to remember what you came here for.
And to make time to be present for the people you love.
And connect to what’s in front of you, right now.
The world doesn’t need you death-scrolling,
Overstimulated,
burnt out.
It needs you bored.
Creative.
Free.
-
There is still time to
Wake up.
To remember who you were
before the algorithm
told you who it thinks you should be.
-
The world needs you to stare into space more,
To give yourself space to think,
to imagine,
and to remember,
the best entertainment
is within your own infinite mind.
Because the reason why your mind races at night
is because you’ve lost these micro-moments.
All these little in-betweens are now filled
with reaching for your device.
And your mind is struggling to process the day
late at night,
when you’re trying to fall asleep,
because it hasn’t had these pauses scattered throughout the day.
-
Moments where it seems like nothing is happening
—yet they return you to centre.
They remind you of what’s most important.
And in these small moments,
waiting,
Your best ideas will arrive.
So next time you find yourself standing in line,
Or alone with your thoughts,
Don’t reach for your phone.
Let your mind wander.
Allow yourself to be bored.
-
Because these little in-between moments,
are what guide you back home to yourself.
They are the times when your soul can speak.
And when your soul speaks,
your purpose appears.
-
Don’t let the next version of you,
your next great idea,
be handed to you by an algorithm
that thinks it knows who you should be.
-
Look within.
You weren’t here to follow in someone else’s footsteps
Or to be led by an algorithm,
a trend,
or a viral video.
-
You are here to walk your own unique path.
To be quiet enough,
bored enough,
to imagine.
-
To let your mind wander
To hear your soul speak,
and let the deepest part of you
lead the way,
to where you should be.
And from that place, you can offer to the world,
what humanity needs.
If you feel inspired to take action based on this post, here are a few gentle experiments you can use now to reclaim these in-between moments:
Get an app blocker like Opal app. (not sponsored, just a fan)
Leave your phone in another room every time you eat a meal.
Take one daily walk without devices, podcasts, or music… just you, noticing your environment, and paying attention to the world around you.
When you’re switching between tasks or waiting in a line, try taking a few deep breaths, noticing the sensations in your body, and noticing what’s around you before checking your phone.
Delete one app that has been taking up most of your time, just for a week, and see how it feels.
Plug in your phone outside of your bedroom before you go to bed at night, and you will be screen-free in the morning and evening, so you never start or end your day with overstimulation. Put a paper book in your room instead.
Further reading:
Stolen Focus - Johann Hari
Digital Minimalism - Cal Newport
Indistractable - Nir Eyal
Hello everyone,
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My name is Laura Matsue Guenther. I’m a psycho-spiritual guide, writer, and evolutionary astrologer, walking this path of deep inner work, individuation, and awakening right alongside you.
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Laura
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