A Beautiful View

Suzette BrawnerGeneral

a beautifl view

A couple of weeks ago my friend Kathy sent me a funny and sad at the same time picture. Two women were having lunch at a nice restaurant totally captivated by their phone screens instead of each other’s company and conversation. Her text read, “Let’s meet for lunch so we can sit and stare at our phones.”

I was having lunch with Jim Brawner last week and watched a looked-to-be-grandmother absorbed in texting. Meanwhile the baby in the high chair next to her ate a whole paper straw cover. Mentally rehearsing the Heimlich maneuver, I was trying to decide whether I should alert her when she looked up and watched the kiddo take the last bite. Then she fussed at the baby. I wanted so badly to fuss at her. I didn’t.

Just think about everything we miss when we aren’t paying attention … some good things, some not so good, and some potentially dangerous. And as wonderful as it is, technology has blocked our view.

Texting is convenient when you need “yes” and “no” or “what time?” answers especially when you’re asking someone who doesn’t fully understand the meaning of brief. After a debated text discussion on whether Shakespeare or Cicero or Jesus said, “The eyes are the windows to the soul,” I realized so much can be lost in translation via keyboard. Whoever said it first was explaining why face-to-face conversations, especially about relationships, are best.
It’s so easy to get sucked into the cyberspace vortex and lose consciousness of the world around us. There is a beautiful view to miss if we aren’t careful. I want to become more and more aware of my surroundings and take the time to look into my friends’ and family’s hearts and souls more and more often.