Be Present

     

     I've read a few books lately. In particular, two very good books. One is by Hannah Brencher (which I highly recommend) and the other was by Karen Kingsbury (I recommend all of hers as well). One was a non-fiction book and one was fiction. But they both seemed to have a reoccurring theme of being present. Because of those books and other things that have happened in my world, this idea of being present has been on my mind a lot lately. With our current technology, it is so easy for us to have multiple people, places, and worlds in our back pocket. I strongly feel that we have to be able to choose when to give in to the temptation of pulling out that tablet or phone and disappearing from the physical world that we are in. 

     I feel like I should take a minute for a short disclaimer. I am in no way against technology. Or cell phones. Or tablets. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Snapchat. Or Instagram. I think that cell phones are a wonderful thing when you have a friend who has moved away. I think they are a wonderful thing when you  have had to move away from your family. I think they are a wonderful thing when you have a friend who is struggling. I think they are a beautiful thing when they give someone language when they might otherwise be non-verbal. I think they are a wonderful thing when you have gotten yourself lost and the GPS is at home (you know it's happened to you...). 

   However, I am afraid that it is starting to become a social crutch for many people (myself included). Relationships are hard. Sitting at a table and talking to one or two people for over an hour can be stressful. But those are things that we, as a society, have to learn to deal with and work through. This probably sounds like a thousand other blog posts or articles on being present and engaging in the world around you but as I sat at Applebees the other day and watched a mother and her son be on their individual phones as they waited for their order, I got very sad and figured that I needed to say something to the world (that's you guys reading this). 

     Once you make the choice to be present in conversations, you'll be surprised at how much you notice about others and your environment. So, my challenge for you is to pick one conversation or social setting this week and choose to be present. Leave the phone on vibrate and attend to the person that you are with.