"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day"
It Really is That Damn Phone
Written by Liv Adao and Josie Hammond
Hello tree huggers! Welcome back to Speak for The Trees, thank you for taking the time to read the thoughts in our head! Today, we are talking about how and why it really is that damn phone! Let’s get into it…
According to our calculations at We Speak for the Trees™, a person who spends an average of 5 hours on their phone daily, will spend around 6,843 days of their life staring at a screen, which equates to around 18 years. If you’re in the U.S., your screen time can vote! If that doesn’t make you want to chuck your phone across the room (after reading this blog of course) and disappear Chris McCandless style, we don’t know what will!
So let’s discuss some ways that we can cut down on this monumental time spent doing absolutely nothing (if we’re being serious). One of our very own founders, Josie, spent a month of her summer at NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), where she hiked through the Wind River mountains of Wyoming, completely cut off from society, and all technology. The experience profoundly impacted her, especially her relationship with nature. So today we’ve set up a little interview style blog so Josie can teach us the power of touching grass!
Liv: Welcome to Liv’s Interview Corner, today we have a very special guest, and a dear friend of mine, Josephine Hammond!
Josie: Hi, hellooo! Happy to be here.
L: Let’s get straight into it: so you spent a month in the Wyoming mountains hiking last summer: how did your experience change the way you viewed human relationships with technology, especially our phone addictions?
J: Hmm, well I realized how reliant we are on technology, especially our phones, even when it’s not necessary. We want to constantly be entertained and stimulated, to the point where there’s no time for silence and “boredom”, but when I was out there with no option to even be on my phone, there was just so much more time spent doing things that felt infinitely more important, like reading or journaling, even playing card games with the people there or sitting with your thoughts.
L: Could you explain what you mean by making time for “boredom”?
J: Making time for boredom is basically allowing yourself to be completely separate from all distractions. Specifically in Wyoming, as an example, we had “free time”, and we would be hiking and cooking all day, really busy, and so when we had our free time, I remember one night after eating dinner during that free time, I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to journal and sit with my thoughts, soaking in what was going on that I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. Like sometimes you’re so used to being busy and constantly having something to occupy your brain that you don’t even realize what’s going on in your mind or what your body is telling you. When you take the time to experience that boredom, you’re able to reflect on yourself and your life. Boredom is so important for creativity, and introspection, you can’t be afraid of boredom because it gives you so much time and space to dissect what is going on in your life, and analyze these ideas and situations that you otherwise might not have had time for. You have to sit and take the time to unravel them.
L: How did you find yourself behaving after NOLS, were you more likely to sit in that boredom instead of, say, reaching for your phone?
J: I’m definitely not perfect, but right when I got back, I was definitely more aware of how I spent my time on my screen and devices. I recognized the importance of spending time without my phone. And I noticed how much I would automatically reach for it, and I was more aware of how it was a problem that I wanted to solve. It’s not an easy thing to solve at all, and I still want to get better, but I think it’s important to be aware of when you’re on your phone, like “Why am I doing this, is it important or beneficial? Or am I just afraid of the silence of boredom?”
L: You already touched on this a bit, but what do you most hope readers will take away from our discussion?
J: Going back to Mary Oliver, of course, she urges us to spend more time in nature, in silence and solitude, putting away the chaos of your phone. And you will find so much more satisfaction and contentment within that. Noticing a bluejay in your backyard is infinitely more gratifying than seeing a funny Instagram reel. And small changes will make big differences in the end. It’s okay to be on our phones, it’s a big part of our culture and society, and it is a real addiction that is hard to break. Give yourself grace for the times you need to be on your phone. For me I think it’s about mindfulness, like being aware of why you’re picking up your phone, or wanting to scroll on TikTok, and recognizing the times when you’re just looking for something to fill up your brain. And as you practice existing in silence and boredom you will become better at it, and you will feel the difference.
L: Alright awesome! Thank you Josie!
J: Of course! Anytime.
And of course, if we didn’t convince you, here’s Mary Oliver’s take on the whole thing.
Invitation by Mary Oliver
Oh do you have time to linger for just a little while out of your busy
and very important day for the goldfinches that have gathered in a field of thistles
. . .
it is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in the broken world. I beg of you,
do not walk by without pausing to attend to this rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something. It could mean everything. It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote: You must change your life.
Well, you heard her folks! Your homework for this week is to set aside some time to just be bored! Watch the birds fly around your backyard, notice the cracks in the floor of your kitchen, let your mind wander and explore. Silence is powerful!
Ive also spent a lot of time thinking about this, and the idea that we are “afraid of the silence of boredom” is extremely eye opening. We use our phones as a form of escapism to hide from daily stresses and anxieties, yet paradoxically the phone is the vessel in which so much negative energy is delivered to us, whether we realize it or not. The idea that we should set aside time for boredom is freaking awesome and something I might actually try implementing into my day to day life. Hell maybe I’ll even start up my nols journal again! Thanks guys this was another wonderful read.
Speak for the Trees 
One response to “It Really is That Damn Phone”
Ive also spent a lot of time thinking about this, and the idea that we are “afraid of the silence of boredom” is extremely eye opening. We use our phones as a form of escapism to hide from daily stresses and anxieties, yet paradoxically the phone is the vessel in which so much negative energy is delivered to us, whether we realize it or not. The idea that we should set aside time for boredom is freaking awesome and something I might actually try implementing into my day to day life. Hell maybe I’ll even start up my nols journal again! Thanks guys this was another wonderful read.
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