Soul Food Revolution

On my fancy cell phone is this simple really cool thing. It happens only when I plug it in and have the phone off. It’s not an app I bought or downloaded. It’s not some feature that will help me stay organized. But it’s still one of the coolest things on this ‘smart’ phone. Today I was talking to a friend and my phone died. I didn’t have my charger with me and was in the middle of some things so for the next 45 minutes or so I was disconnected from the world I know. The world of email and tweets. Status updates and texts. Wouldn’t you know it by the time I got back to the office, plugged my phone in for a few to get a charge I had missed 5 phone calls, received 8 texts, 4 instant messages and had 7 emails come through. Yes in 45 minutes. Those texts, i.m.’s and voice mails?….’Mitch where are you?’ ‘Mitch call me back!’ ‘Are you gonna answer?’ ‘Is May 25th ok for our appointment?’ You get the picture. While I’m amazed at how ‘instant’ we have become I’ll save that topic for another blog. Also to my friends, family and future business partners that I missed out on during my 45 minute vacation I love you. I’m sorry I missed you and I did call the person back that I was talking to when my phone died.

Back to my cool feature. I plug the phone in today and it pops on the screen. The coolest feature my phone has. When I plug my phone in while having it powered off a picture of a AA battery pops on the screen. Inside this little battery is a meter that flows back and forth like water showing how much of a charge your battery has. Less than 25% the water is red. Once the charge gets past 25% the water turns green. Underneath the battery is the percentage of charge. When the phone is less than 5% it won’t even turn on because it knows there isn’t near enough charge to do anything. Simple, I know, yet powerful. Powerful? Yes. Powerful. Every time I see this little battery pop up it reminds me of….well….me. This battery with it’s flowing, watery like charge meter reminds me of my life. It reminds me how I need to keep my life charged. Not plugged in but charged. You see if I stay plugged in then I stay tied to an outlet that is usually attached to a wall. In other words when I’m plugged in I can’t move. I can’t go. I can’t give to others the energy that I’ve just been given. BUT it is vital that I plug in and recharge often. If I don’t? I soon lose my energy and usefulness. I become short tempered and impatient. I say things and make decisions that I should never say or make. My head becomes cloudy when it should be clear and sunny. Why? Because I’m less than 5%. I have no energy. I need to plug in. What would happen if I plugged my phone in to charge then never used it? The charge would stay for a while but eventually it would die. Energy must be active to be useful. My youngest daughter loves to play with our old cell phones. She will play games and talk to people. One day she forgot to recharge a phone. It sat. The battery died. It made this noise. A terribly awful WAH….WAH…….WAH…….we couldn’t find that phone anywhere! The battery died even tho it hadn’t been used.

Friends, plug in but don’t stay plugged in. Use your energy to make the world a better place. Invest in others. Then plug in again. Don’t just plug in and sit. It will kill you. When you see that little battery pop up in your life recharge. Be active. Meditate. Pray. Read. Laugh. Sing. Write. Run. Simply recharge. My 45 minute vacation wasn’t much…but it was enough. I’m recharged. I’m ready and the river of my life is flowing.

Here’s to a recharge in your life!

Mitch