I was watching scenery on Highway 49 in the Gold Rush area of California and noticed my sister-in-law wrestling with her smart phone apps. I frequently notice this scenario of people who are so mesmerized by their phones that they forget to look up and see. There is so much to look at when on the highway, how people live, their little corner or patch of the American Dream, the flora, the fauna. I’ve written on this before and understand I’m in the minority, but I will forever hold that being simple with a simple flip phone allows me to be more mindful. Those with smart phones can absolutely make that same choice but there seems to be a tendency to let the phone rule the mind. Today on a walk among the foothills of the Sierra’s I spotted new warblers, ducks, and jays that hadn’t made my spotter’s list. What a joy. I didn’t pull a phone out and snap pictures, Facebook the moment, or Twitter all to my location. I watched and enjoyed. I took a long healthy sigh of gratitude. It is so easy to get wrapped up and entangled in the world in front of us or the world behind us and we forget the world that’s with us. I am a lucky person to be able to be a simple person, but it is by choice and it is a healthy choice for me. Take a walk today without a tether. Soak in the moment and let your brain remember that when all the mechanics and technology are gone, what’s before you in the natural world is the common thread through our souls.