Thank you to all 152 subscribers so far—we’ve made it to a second day. Since a few readers have asked already: You are more than welcome to share these newsletters with your friends, family, co-workers, and communities. —J
Today’s challenge: Before bed, move your phone into a different room.
To help others, you must first tend to yourself. You must put on your own oxygen mask, before assisting your neighbor with theirs. You must know, in your body, first and foremost, that you are safe.
Your phone can take you far away from knowing. Even turned off, its mere presence distracts. Kept by your bedside, it sabotages sleep—the sleep required to regulate mood, and boost immunity. The sleep required to have the energy, and clarity, to be a good helper.
The phone is a convenient source of information, yes. And of escape, too. But staying up to date is different from obsessing. Reading about a tree burning a thousand miles away, at two o'clock in the morning, will not stop it from burning.
In the other room your phone can still be heard. It can still be picked up, should it ring with emergency. But in the other room, it can’t easily be reached. It can’t whisk you, instantly, somewhere other than where you are—here, in the solidity of your body, supported by your bed, a sheltering roof above you. Here, where you are ultimately safe.
Allow the bedroom to be your sanctuary, sleep to be your oxygen. First put on your own mask, and unkink the hose, so that in the morning, you can be ready to help.