But I Like the Button

Good Morning DearHearts,

 Our attachments to things in form might be unfounded and ridiculous, but releasing them will never occur until we stare directly at them.

I was very attached to the “button” on my iPhone™. It was easy, I understood how it worked. Why did it have to be replaced?  Did the executives at Apple ™  know about my attachment? Did they somehow know my enchantment was actually keeping me from seeking a newer, faster, more advanced communication device? Truthfully it was.

My plan for keeping my precious button was working for several years. I would delete large attachments I no longer wanted. However, no matter how I thought I could thwart the need to replace my phone the storage capacity kept moving to the maximum number.  As “64” was looming on the horizon I started to wonder if there was another Apple™ phone with a button.  As it happens there was.

One afternoon as I was recording my daily A Course in Miracles video the very dreaded pop-up appeared telling me I was out of storage. This can’t be happening, and yet it was. My immediate thought was how would I record my YouTube video and upload it? It’s not a well kept secret that my ease with shifting technology is NOT something I welcome. (This is very much the reason for my button attachment.)

After several hours of mild panic and deep breathing I was able to record and upload from an alternative device. I felt a deep sense of both accomplishment and not wanting to attempt this process again the next day.

This frightening experience brought me to the phone store where I noticed THERE was a new phone that had “the precious button”.

 I decided to go with what I knew. I signed the agreement and waited for the new button phone to arrive at my home.  To say I was disappointed with the screen size would be an understatement. This “new” phone was not going to work for me even though it had the precious button. I would have to learn how to swipe.  The next day I went to the phone carrier’s store, only to find I needed to go to a corporate store for the transaction.

I called for reinforcements (a tech savvy friend) to meet me there.

Of course ALL of my fear and trepidation were unfounded. The whole process took ten minutes and all of my precious data was transferred to the new phone by the store employee. 

When the new “baby” was handed over I tried my first swipe. That was actually easy. I guess I can learn new technology after all. After a few days I became more comfortable with the new way of closing one screen to go to the next. All initial fears about the new processes disappeared as I allowed myself to become accepting.

Every change in life is exactly like my phone fear. Each change starts with the awareness of the necessity for adapting some behavior, circumstance or relationship. Then the inner dialogue begins about the wisdom of the adjustment. What will follow will be the arbitration for each side of the decision for change.

“As this change develops and is finally accomplished, it grows increasingly beneficent and joyous”[i]

My inner debate about upgrading my phone went something like this. On one hand perhaps I shouldn’t wait until the phone is out of storage BUT I am trying to be very thoughtful about the amount of “stuff” I value and accumulate. I remember an old adage about not fixing what isn’t broken and I can make do with this older phone. Why should I replace the phone? But what will happen if I delay the replacement? This inner conversation was replayed in my mind for several months.

The same amount of resistance is evident when it comes to changing our thinking about this world. The most daunting aspect of embracing a spiritual practice is letting go of the old thought system we have used for years if not a lifetime.  To let go of old thinking we must come to the awareness those past thoughts are no longer in alignment with future goals and desires. We will likely go through the same deliberation process with our worldly attachments that I used for my phone. It will likely be more difficult to release a whole world, but the joy will be even greater once we do.

In Love, Light and Peace

Janet Weissman

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[i] ACIM Text Chap.17 V:53