Perhaps the greatest benefit of the technological advances that we, as a society, have made is the ability that we have to share and become involved in each other’s lives, and the speed at which we are able to do it. Never before in human history have we been more connected to each other. This connection online, however, presents a major disconnect in our physical world.
In the day-to-day activities of ones life it has become far too easy to lose touch with the little things that make the human experience so special. That is why I believe that it is important for us to take time out of our days to disconnect, and enjoy “the little things”.
Far too many times, we are told to “hurry up”, “do this as soon as possible” or “lets go somewhere else”. We aren’t told enough, or sometimes we don’t think enough to “stop for a moment and try to appreciate all the great things going on around you”. We are all in search of what is next instead of discovering what is right before us. While I have held this philosophy close to me for some time, it recently became clearer to me as to why this philosophy is so important.
Last month, in order to focus more on the busy schedule I had upcoming, I decided to delete all social media apps from my phone. Initially, my goal was to limit my distractions so I could focus on my priorities. As I would find out, I became more aware and engaged on what was happening around me. We are all lucky enough to go to school on a campus as beautiful as University Park’s. From the architecture to the nature, to the energy of the student body, it is a unique experience that we to have for a relatively short period of our lives. By not being distracted by my phone while I walked to class, I was able to take in the unique beauty of our campus. I was shocked to see how many times I would use my phone when walking, and it wasn’t until I became actively mindful that I was able to see what I was missing. As opposed to mindlessly scrolling through twitter before class starts, I have had more conversations with classmates. Without constantly checking in on what is happening online around the world, I have been tuned in to what is going on in mine.
We are all lucky to be living in this time of human history. In seconds, we can see what is going on all the way across the planet, in real time. We have such a wealth of information at our fingertips, and we have used all of this to create great things. But, we shouldn’t forget how we got here in the first place, engaging and appreciating the world and the people around us. If there is one connection that is worth making more often, it is that one.
Great.