“Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
It was a cold, starry night. While I was sitting on the train, my eyes got stuck on the empty streets. I could hear the wind playing with some dry leaves out there. A little snowflake fell out of the sky and touched my rosy cheek.
I love the smell of the winter. It reminds me of comfort, warm tea, good food and a great company… It reminds me of home. Home…a feeling of unexplainable warmth covered my whole body and got straight to my heart.
My family and friends were waiting for me. I couldn’t wait to see them all.
I imagined us sitting by the warm fireplace, telling stories and laughing, opening the presents, enjoying the magic of the holidays. It would get me back to the time when I was a kid…
“Welcome home baby! We missed you so much! Look at you, gorgeous, you haven’t changed at all!” – my mother couldn’t hold her tears. I hugged her so tight. We entered the living room. Everything was so perfectly decorated with love and care: I saw the huge tree and our cute dog…
And I saw many dear people sitting by the fireplace…starring at their cell phones. They didn’t notice me at all. It was quiet.
I felt unimportant.
Yes, we laughed, talked, and shared our stories, but, somehow, it wasn’t the same thing… we couldn’t even have a proper dinner together!
Constant calls, chatting on social media, thousands of selfies, likes, posts, mysterious smiling while looking at the screen, boring small talks about Facebook profiles of people we didn’t personally know…
It hit me: we forgot the essence of real communication. We forgot to listen and pay a full attention to each other.
I felt they weren’t paying a full attention to what I was saying. They were just nodding their heads, murmuring some interrupted sentences, giving convincing responses, pretending like they were listening. That was even worst.
In a crowd of people, I felt alone.
It’s sad to see how we have become prisoners of our cell phones.
We’re so glued to a fantasy that we don’t notice there’s a real world out there. We are so locked in our inner world of thoughts that we are absent even in our presence.
It’s sad to see that we use phones to capture the moments instead of living in their beauty.
It’s devastating to see that the cell phone has become our best friend, partner, our escape from loneliness, the only source of entertainment and joy.
Therefore, PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN. SHOW SOME RESPECT.
Free yourself from the chains of technology. Feel the joy of being alive.
Spend time with your family and friends. Stay present and pay attention to the people around you. Your attention is the most precious gift you’ll ever give to someone.
Remember, your phone will be there later, but people in front of you won’t.
Image:Lisa Dudzik Perth
Sandy White is a creative writer with a vivid imagination. The power of curiosity leads her to explore people’s inner world which is portrayed in her articles.
