I’m sitting at the airport in Dallas on my way to visit friends and family in New Mexico. If you’re a seasoned flier you’ve seen the evolution of airports and interaction. It used to be when you got on the plane “all electronic devices must be powered of. Anything with an off switch. IPods, phones…” And more often then not you would at least acknowledge the person next to you, especially if you’re the one in the middle. Now “all large electronics must be turned off. Anything that is not on airplane mode.” I used to get in the plane and people would look at up as you passed, even offer to help you with putting your bag in the overhead bins. Now just about everyone is doing last minute texts or checking Facebook making sure they can survive till they can look at it the moment they land or they already have their movie playing or are trying to reach the next level on the newest game.
People in today’s culture are so disengaged in life. They feel disconnected if they are not on their phone, even though they are sitting next to someone (be they friend or foe, okay stranger) but everyone was a stranger once, they don’t become friends till you talk to them. But we are so caught up in what the virtual world is doing we forget about the real world. The one where people have thousands of “friends” online yet deal with loneliness and depression. Why do we get together and “hang out” but everyone is on their phones instead of engaging in the real and the present. In a crowded room people are lost and alone.
You may think me strange, you wouldn’t be the first, but one of the things I’m looking forward to on the Race is “disconnecting” and instead “engaging”.
My newest favorite TV show is “Sue Thomas FBEye”. If you’ve heard of it you know it’s about a deaf woman who works for the FBI in Washington DC. She is especially useful because she can read lips on the surveillance tapes that have no audio. And since she is deaf she has to rely on her others senses, mainly sight, to be aware of what is happening. Even then you can’t hear what’s happening so you have to fill in the pieces. Since watching it I’m paying more attention to what it might be like to be deaf. To only know what’s happening because you’re seeing it. In today’s culture we walk down the street and miss what’s happening because we are so “tunnel focused”.
In life, and especially on this trip, I want to be fully engaged.
ENGAGED: 1: involved in activity
2: greatly interested/committed
I want to fully experience all life has for me. And I can’t be doing that when I’m looking down. The best things in life happen when you’re looking up.
P.S. I didn’t finish this in the Dallas airport. And between the start and the finish I was in a restaurant on a Sunday afternoon getting something to eat. I looked around at the crowded restaurant and noticed no one was on their phone but rather they were talking to the people they were with, and I promise you it was loud, but I loved it!
