Lock Screen Reminders

Been staring at your phone a lot lately?

So have I.

Last week I was on a city bus in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. We were driving along Kamehameha highway, north of Kaneohe alongside one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world on one side and the pristine ocean on the other side. (You already know where this story is going...) From where I stood in the back of the bus, my mind alternated between the beauty of the view out the bus windows, the concern that so many within the bus were staring at a business-card-sized piece of glass in their hand, and my own inexplicable inclination to pull my own phone out of my pocket and do the same thing.

Then I remembered this video below that I had watched a couple of Sunday's earlier with my sweet daughter, Emma. I remembered that at the end of the video the speaker presents two helpful questions technology users can ask themselves to see if they are keeping themselves in check. So I looked them up online, right there on the bus (I felt it was justified since it would only take a couple seconds... - but that's what we say every time we check our phones rather than look at something beautiful though, isn't it?). They are:

 1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?

 2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

And then I got this idea. If I had those questions right there on my lock screen, I bet it would give me enough pause to prove that I am indeed stronger than my phone, and help me make the best choice.

So I did it. I went home and got on Illustrator and used my b-class skills to put together a simple PNG that I now have on my phone.

Now I've got the idea that you might want to join the fun and start "seeing more mountains" again. I've created this blog post to serve as a home for the iterations on this theme that I (and you!) create. So, pin away, and enjoy. You too are stronger than your phone :)

If you want to contribute a design to be posted here, just shoot it to me in an email: markianmac@gmail.com
 

First shot.

sized for iPhone 4S running iOS7