Hello, dear soul, and welcome to the Light Bears Library. In today's journal entry, I want to talk about how our phones and being constantly available is blocking our deep rest and recovery. And it's so important because in this world where it's just so chaotic and the energy is crazy, there's chaos. So we need to be able to access a deeper level of rest and recovery than we have previously. So there's, you know, so much sensory overload in our in our world that we live in, and you know, so much noise, so much just emotional, you know, emotional overwhelm and overload. I don't know if you've been feeling that, but I I certainly have. And there's a sense of just being exhausted. So we need to really be able to guard our mind and our energy and our just our hearts from the the the craziness that's out there. And so, you know, this this expectation of being constantly available, you know, is is it keeps our our sensitive nervous systems on high alert. You know, we're we're always kind of waiting or wondering what what ding or notification or person is gonna want our attention next. And so we've kind of gotta, like I have this image of, you know, if we enter into our our library, say, because you know, we're here in the library's library, but we enter into this quiet library where we have, you know, I love to have a a hot cup of water in the evenings with my book and my journal beside me when thoughts come up. And so we enter into that place and it's calm and it's quiet, and we're listening to soft, soft music with our, you know, the salt lamp on, and or, you know, whatever, where it's just peaceful and there's nothing disturbing that peace. So we have to kind of create a sanctuary and um that that really has a clear dividing line between, you know, sort of maybe our day and our our evening, if if that's when you kind of have the time off, you know, that is that is clearly demarcated for recovering and rest. So I have some some suggestions on what you can do with your phone because I have spent the last eight years maybe really working on using my phone less and less and less so that that there's no dinging and no nothing on my phone. My phone basically is on flight mode all the time and it's very peaceful. So I think the first thing that I would recommend is that um there's a sense you need to create some boundaries with the people in your life um so that that there's an there's no you you set appropriate expectations with the people that call like text you or call you most often and just sort of say, you know, my phone is off every evening after eight or whatever it is that you create a a space, a boundary that says, I'm off limits. Um, you know, and and then you respect that for yourself, right? So that means not checking. Um and that can be that can be quite quite difficult. And how I have gotten around that is that, you know, there are no my phone, there are no notifications on my phone. Like nothing, nothing dings, nothing, nothing, nothing alerts me to anything, you know. Um, so that's another boundary that, you know, my phone just doesn't ding. So except for texts, but my phone is on flight mode. So um, you know, I check it when I feel like I have the energy to check it. And my family knows it might be days before I get back to them. If they want to get in touch with me, I've got, you know, I check my email more often because, you know, that's on my computer and that's kind of where I do my work and stuff. So they know that if they need to get a hold of me more quickly, that's how they get a hold of me. So it's it's all of these things making it work for you and your life and how it's it's yeah, how it works for you. So there are no dingings on my phone. So that's one one really peaceful, peaceful, restful way is that there's not these things that because I don't know about you. When I used to have notifications on, it would just like it would cause an immediate surge of anxiety in me and um and like who is it, what is it, you know, and it can happen at any time when you're eating or when you're like just say no, just say no, or or have those times, like when you know it's not appropriate for you to to be um to be notified. Um, put your phone on on on do not disturb, right, during mealtimes. Because to digest our food, we need to be in a calm state. When when when our body is not in a calm state, like in our mind or in our, you know, we're restless, we don't digest our food very well, and then we can get upset tummies or gas or whatever. And so really noticing the the difference between when you eat when you're calm versus when you eat when you're not, when you're you know stressed or anxious. Um it's worthwhile to wait until you're calm before eating. That's a side note, but you know, um and then so then the other thing is is that um this is kind of a a slight separate, but but I think I don't even have I don't have my email apps on my phone, you know. Um, like I don't check email on my phone. I basically don't have hardly any apps on my phone. I have the ones that, you know, I have my library app where I have my um which I use for audiobooks because I have a uh like a Kindle to read read books because I don't like reading on the screen. Um I have Spotify and I have YouTube, which I really should take off my phone at some point. Um, but I don't have any social media accounts anywhere. So I don't have social media apps on my phone either. Well, I don't have social media, so um, that really helps to to um not yeah, not have a lot of incoming. And um, yeah, just be asking yourself, do the apps that you're using, do they, are they draining you emotionally? Are they draining your time and your life force away from spending time in your your cozy library space, whatever that looks like for you, you know, or spending time creating things, spending time with your family, spending time going and being in nature, you know, the these these this this digital drain, it just drains our life force and time away. So um, and then um yeah, I think I think also just uh in terms of uh, you know, this is a this is something that you can you can just try this, right? So, so try setting a boundary with the the people that most contact you, right? Um, and see if you can try it for a weekend to just give yourself some breathing room, some rest and recovery time. Um, so it could just be that you, you know, you're not ready to do this full, full on and um and and kind of go for it. It's it's wonderful, it's amazing, I'm telling you. But um, but maybe just on the weekends you say, I'm or or on Sunday you say, I'm I'm not available on Sunday, basically. I don't reply to messages, I don't reply to texts, you know, um, or try it for, you know, a week or a month or whatever, to just see how you feel. Notice the difference in your energy, in your state of mind, in your in your state of well-being, so that, you know, notice the difference of how not having notifications and not being available all the time really calms your nervous system and your mind down from that that anxiety. It's it's about boundaries and it's about it's about self-protection, right? Self-protecting our own energy so that we can, when we do have the the mental capacity and the heart capacity and the soul capacity to be in contact with people, then we do it out of a place of fullness, fullness of energy. So when I'm feeling, when I'm feeling full of energy and enthusiasm, I basically write a bunch of emails and texts to people and then and then that's it, you know. Um, then, you know, emails and texts will kind of come in and reply, and that's fine. And then it might be a week before I reply again. And, you know, my family and friends that I do have that I am in contact with, that's just the way it is. Um, so you know, that's that's something that you can think about. If you have done this yourself, I would love to hear from you in the comments. Let me know what your thoughts are on creating these these boundaries. Um, I would I would love to hear from you. And um, if this was helpful or made you think, please give me a thumbs up and subscribe to the Paris Library. I would love to have you here. Okay, well, I'm wishing you so many blessings. Signing off for now, XOXO Kate.