If you have traveled by air anytime in the last decade, you have likely heard the airline attendant share an inflight passenger announcement in some variation of this statement, “At this time, your portable electronic devices must be set to ‘airplane mode’ until an announcement is made upon arrival.” Although you may hear a few rebellious travelers attempt to fit in one last phone conversation, most flyers locate the button on their smartphone and comply with the attendant’s instructions. Personally, I’m learning to relish these moments of stillness without the constant dings and buzzes announcing alerts that instill a reaction to disengage in a current activity to see what the immediate need is.

Beginning a conversation about my personal need for Airplane Mode and the constant struggle between the desire for information and its associated exhaustion in previous posts (see below), today I offer another glimpse into my yearning to find what defines a proper balance. Appreciating social media and televised news which informs me of things such as specifics on how to pray for people or what the current science says about COVID, I can also find myself overwhelmed with news about natural disasters, pandemics, riots, killings, cancer diagnoses and death. Choosing faith over fear is my intent, but the reality is that often I would prefer to escape to the mountains where nature demonstrates a better alignment with the way God created the world to be. But when I cannot flee to the soothing snow-capped peaks, I delete the apps from my phone or go even further by switching to Airplane Mode.

Presently, what delights me about transitioning into Airplane Mode is the opportunity to reflect, read, pray, and even engage in productive activity without the noise, whether that arrives in the form of an actual sound or as a simple attention distractor. The Lord often finds me in the silence and sometimes His message is to “just be;” or to at least offer my full attention to the task at hand, whether that’s painting a classroom at The King’s Academy, tweaking a syllabus for the fall, watching Brady compete at tennis, or using too-ripe bananas to bake a cake. It’s a wonderful throwback to the days before electronic gadgets arrived to divide our attention.

Now, travel with my family and there will likely be no need to necessarily implement Airplane Mode in order to enjoy silence, we are quite capable of driving hundreds of miles without every uttering a word. Music? This truck has a radio? The only sound is the growling of the diesel engine as it tows a second home behind us or dad reading the signs advertising the price of fuel, just in case we might have missed that vital information. On my last trip, it was just me and the narrator on the GypSy app; however, because he did share my sense of humor and rating of worthwhile stops, there might have been a few one-sided conversations. Oh, how we relish in our introversion!

Understanding that many people are required to be in contact with work and family members, Airplane Mode on their phone might not be the most feasible way to tune out the world and focus on the tasks at hand, so my question for readers is this, “When and where do you find opportunities to experience some form of Airplane Mode? What Habits of Margin or Habits of Deep Work have you implemented into your life that allows you a time of peace and silence?” Please feel free to share in the comments below.

References:

Post #28 | October 26, 2019 | Sabbath, Shabbat, Shalom

Post #77 | April 13, 2020 | Digital Minimalism

Post # 79 | April 19, 2020 | This is Your Brain on a Smartphone