Anyone who says that playing on your phone is a waste of time should be ignored. It is that word ‘play’ that makes their badgering so stressful. Pure ignorance. I suppose this originates from all phones looking the same from the back. You cannot tell what anyone is doing.
It was a friend of a friend of a friend who got me into Tides. He knew I lived by the sea, and told me the app was so calming.
The idea was you put on some calm, lo fi beats, and then stared at the tides going back and forth on their digital map. Anyone with a sailing background might have found it quite useful. But my friend loved the mindfulness of watching the currents.
Some people have Tides on in the background when doing their art, or working from home. If you were really hardcore, you stared at the screen, and nothing else. This was us.
We focused on a spot in the Atlantic. One where the current rotates in constant flux. After ten minutes of staring at my phone, all my stress melted away.
I was deep in concentration when my wife told me about the shape rising from the ocean. The giant green head, and wings, and mass of tentacles around the mouth. The shipping containers tossed aside like Lego.
In real life rain hammered at the window. The seagulls called. But none of this mattered. I knew exactly where the monster was rising. Why it was so enjoyable to play on your phone.
