Truth be the guide - I heard this quote for the first time in Newtown, PA. Being from Elmira, NY the idea that I'd travel four hours south for what I'm sure is bantered about in the adopted home of Samuel Clemens has always caught my attention. I attribute my keen interest of anything "Mark Twain" to our shared connection - me, Sam and Elmira - there is no way I miss Mark Twain quotes in public settings. The same way I never miss a Tommy Hilfiger logo in any elevator...but that's another post!

Shared by a guidance counselor at a child of mine's high school orientation - upon hearing it I was immediately struck. Bells and words rang and shot across my mind - "Be prepared.", "Plan.", "Do the hardest thing first.", "Get up...move!" As though I were in the middle of a bright spotlight and everyone was waiting for me to...actually no one was even looking at me. Yet I was stunned. Anyone looking was sure to see me holding my breath from acute self-awareness. New knowledge that there may be a way for me to grow and imagine things differently.

Walking into the orientation that day I never imagined I'd enjoy eating frogs so much! You?

There have been a few really helpful innovations over time. Fire and the wheel are up there on my list. Cellphones may be considered for the list but with all things new, bright & shiny - the results are yet to be tabulated.

Both fire & the wheel have a long, storied history and track record of quantifiable value creation. Each have, in ways we can barely recall or comprehend, added to the steps that modernity climbed. They are that profound.

Communication stands among the pillars of our accomplishments. I've searched high and low for the tools of this skill. Each time I begin looking around, I wind up looking inside. So it was with great enthusiasm I welcomed cellphones into my world. Then smartphones! I began my foray of use with a divine understanding that they were inherently "good" & "productive". I left my skepticism at the door. Cellphones could be nothing but a net gain, a rare undeniable value-add.

Let me be the first to admit my mistake. I was wrong. Cellphones are a problem. And not a small one by any measurement.

Any tool designed to do one thing and delivering the exact opposite would quickly find the dust heap of discard. We routinely throw out things & replace processes that fail to perform as expected. Ruthlessly in most instances. Cellphones are designed and promoted as an ubiquitous entity that facilitates communication, entertainment, understanding and connection and the results are in. While they do each of these things in part, overall they erode the core capacities and competencies of the user to a degree that, if they where a tool in your tool box or hanging in your tool shed, you'd discard hurriedly. Imagine your cellphone had a contagion...you'd throw it away quickly. Then wash your hands...

Need first hand knowledge? Make a list of how your cellphone has contributed to your peace and balance. Describe how, by having a cellphone close at hand 24/7, you better manage the myriad of tasks that conspire to afford you a life of meaning & purpose. Then - think of all the times when you didn't have a cellphone nearby. How do those moments compare?