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I Have No Proof

Maggie
Night sky over mountains
Image by Sasimaporn Moonthep from Pixabay

The crowd yells “Show me the receipts!” Sorry, there are none.

Last night I made a quick trip to the pharmacy. In my haste I left without my phone.

Dusk was beginning to settle as I turned the corner and drove by the newly plowed tomato fields as four deer crossed the road ahead of me. I quickly searched for my phone. I was so intent on snapping a photo I almost missed the moment.

They were beautiful. I watched as the two adults moved into the field while the two yearling froze as if to stare me down. I had stopped the car to let them pass. In a flash they were moving out of sight.

I thought about my phone. After the moment of “what if I need to…” passed, I decided to forge ahead phoneless! Imagine that! Riding into the night untethered.

On the way home the sky was a beautiful violet color, barely lit by the last of the sun as it disappeared behind the mountains. It would have made a beautiful painting. I can’t prove that either. You will simply have to take my word for it.

I spent my life as the family photographer and I am thankful for the countless photographs I took over the years. Now that I am older, I find myself getting more and more content to be lost in the moment, fully immersed in my surroundings. There may be less photos but the trade off is fuller memories.

An acquaintance of mine is in France for a week. She is taking photos and posting them on FaceBook. Sadly, most of them are things she has found to be negative. Bags of trash, artificial flowers, things in disrepair. It is obvious by the backgrounds of the photos she is in a beautiful part of the world. I think she might be missing the moment.

Today my wish is that you experience beautiful things and I hope there are at least a handful you cannot prove.

Take a moment. Put down your phone. Soak in life. That’s my advice. 🦌

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25 thoughts on “I Have No Proof”

  2. The problem with forgetting my phone is that there’s no other way to get help now. I had a dead car battery a while back, and if my phone wasn’t with me, it would have been super inconvenient. I called AAA, and the guy they sent had to call me too. I never see a pay phone nowadays…

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    1. I understand. If I was traveling far, I would have gone back for my phone. I just hope to minimize the idea that I must have it with me at all times, or I must record everything I see.

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  3. Paula has a good point about safety concerns but I still refuse to be tied to my phone. It is in my purse when I’m in the car, but walking each day- nope. It stays home. When I get to the point that I have real issues walking (and I’m determined to find a way to keep going) then I will make sure I have the phone, but until then… there’s too much world out there. (I have a post coming up on this very topic for the weekend)

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    1. I can understand that, however if I spent much time looking for my phone, I would have missed it all. We each find our peace in different ways.

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  11. I don’t need proof, Maggie. I can picture it from your words. I rarely take my phone out, especially when out walking with Ollie, as I don’t want to be disturbed. I take it on car trips in case of breakdowns, but only because there are no phone boxes left to use.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. I love this approach, Maggie. Keeping in the moment and soaking in experiences is a satisfying way to be; nice to often keep the phone in one’s pocket! I’m sorry that your friend is feeling the need to filter toward things that are bothering her while traveling and posting about them. As you write, surely there are many wonderful things to notice instead…

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  13. I think we miss a lot by choosing our screens over real life. You described what you saw beautifully, no need for pictures. True story… I recently left on some extended errands without my phone. My first thought upon realizing that I forgot it? That I needed to call my husband to let him know I didn’t have my phone. Duh.

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  14. The new puppy has given me an “excuse” to just sit outside watching her play. She is little enough that a hawk could nab her, so she can’t be unattended yet. I did use my phone to identify all the birds around me. Late afternoon I heard seven though I had only spotted one. The hawk was definitely around.

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