If a cell phone rings in the forest would life go on?

I am willing to bet that right now someone somewhere is…

Snowboarding down a mountain, one hand is holding a phone while the other holds a Red Bull or Monster. Watch out for that tree pal.

Visiting a forest and enjoying its wildlife. Then the phone rings and frightens the animals away. Or worse yet, attracts the attention of a nearby bear.

Walking through Epcot and talking business on the phone. While his wife is walking next to him pushing a stroller, and she’s ticked off that he couldn’t leave work at the office to fully enjoy the family “vacation” she spent months planning. (Witnessed this one personally during Mousefest, She was not happy.)

Oh, and later that night. Same couple San Angel Inn Cantina at dinner time. Yep he’s on the phone.

A couple weeks ago I was at SNAP and the lady running (or rather sprinting) next to me had her phone resting in the cup holder. She took two calls while I was there. She just stepped off the belt and onto the side deck. Good grief, get a clue lady. I would never let a phone interrupt my workout like that.

The cell phone is a major part of our society today. It is both useful and in my opinion it is one of the greatest scourges on our planet. And for heavens sake don’t get me started on text messaging. Some people can’t be without it.

The cell phone has become a fashion accessory in some cases.

“Oh have you seen my new Razor”
“That’s so old I just got a Chocolate”
“Chocolate is sooooo last year, mines a Jukebox, look it swings open sideways”
“Mine has camera”
“Mine plays music”
“Mine clips toenails”

And mine? Well mine has a ringer and I talk to people on it. And yes shocker of shockers I sometimes leave it at home.

A number of years ago I had the great pleasure of taking a couple trips out to Miramonte national park in SW Colorado to go camping and fishing with my Dad. Being away from it all was great. Each morning I would find him sitting outside drinking his coffee and watching the mountains reflected in the lake as the sun came up.

One morning he said “It took me years to learn how to do this.” I asked him what he meant. “To just take the time to slow down” His point was that in our busy lives we need to take the time to just decompress and put things on the shelf for awhile. It’s ok to do that. “Son, sometimes you just need to go and sit on a rock.”

It’s interesting how this post started out as a rant about my annoyance with cell phones and then my mind turned to Dad and his rock. I realize now that I need to do just that. I have been somewhat stressed lately and although the temps are cold here I could always take the time to just go and unwind somewhere, instead of giving into to a food temptation. I could drive out to the lake and watch people ice fishing, I could go to a mall and people watch, or I could just go find a nice quiet place like a bookstore and relax in its coffee shop.

So here is a challenge for you. Take at least 5 + minutes and give yourself a break today. Just go somewhere sit back, relax, and enjoy another episode of the All About the Mouse Disney Podcast. Ok I’m kidding about the podcast. You can listen to that later, and you should by the way.

Just take some quiet time today. No Ipod and no cell phone.