By Monica Vest Wheeler
A recent media photo of a group of protesters made me chuckle as I looked at one of the leaders in the front row. She was staring at her cell phone while marching. And it wasn’t even a selfie pose.
I have no idea what she was even protesting, but I’m thinking, “You could put your damn phone down for a couple of blocks and show the world this is a top priority if you’re taking it to the streets.”
I saw a perfect metaphor for our society today: we are so distracted by our gadgets that we have trouble delivering our message to others and they’re having trouble receiving it.
We're not communicating very effectively these days, even though we're allegedly the most connected generation since Adam and Eve, who only had each other. And we wonder why there are so many misunderstandings, an overabundance of confusion, and a need to keep repeating the message.
Our brains are on overload from the relentless bombardment of information. What's happening to our brains is happening to our bodies, a stress level elevated by constantly being on call, never letting our guard down.
Give your precious brain a short break every day from the gadgets of your life, unless of course, you're dealing with an emergency situation. Even then, take it out of your hand or pocket or purse and set it aside for even 10 minutes.
Your gray matter and blood pressure will thank you.
Your loved ones and friends will thank you for putting the phone away and having a quality, engaged conversation.
Your brothers and sisters in a social cause will thank you for giving your full attention to the important message that you're trying to share with the world.
Sometimes you've got to disconnect to really connect.
1 comment:
Bravo my sister. Reaching out to touch someone has lost its meaning since it seems that most of the reaching out is about the reacher not the reachee. !?! SAY WHAT?? Anyway you get me on the cell phone stuff. Loving this blog.
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