making a true connection...

a recent visit to the dmv...with a set appointment...had me sitting there for over an hour and a half...quality time with strangers...it amazed me how many people were just sitting there yacking away on their cell phones...

i've seen it coming for a while...haven't you? you can't get through dinner or walk down the street wthout someone pulling out a cell phone...i often wonder, who in the world is everybody talking to?

the whole idea of connection fascinates me...no doubt we're all more digitally and fiber-optically linked than ever before...but we're apparently losing our real connection...

just recently, going through the turnstile in the entrance to a department store...i watched a mother talking and laughing with her cell phone in one hand - and with the other, dragging her crying 3-year-old, whose coat had gotten stuck in the door...she was too busy chatting it up to notice...major disconnect...

as hard as i try not to fall prey to cellular mania...i have succumbed somewhat to the life-changing advantages of it...
as hard as i try not to fall prey to facebook addiction...i have succumbed somewhat to the ability to connect to those in my life that are in other states...as well as other countries...

my niece recently posted a pic to her profile...showing a recent visit to her family in north carolina...it showed 7 family members sitting around a table...all in front of their own laptop or blackberry...
her caption read "dell laptop $1200, blackberry $350, family time...priceless"
it made me laugh...and i know that the picture was staged...but it really made me start to notice...a lot more...how many people are connecting via phone, laptop, and any other technical means that we have access to...while in the presence of real live bodies! me...when given the chance for a face to face...or hearing that person's voice...that will always be my first choice...always...

i don't want to be one of those people...you know the ones...those people who are in a conversation with you but, as you're obviously not holding their interest, take the call from the phone that's ringing beethoven's fifth at 78 rpm and continue to talk to whoever's on the other end...those people who are sitting in a restaurant and checking voice mail every 15 minutes...those people during dinner that are having half a conversation with the group at the table...while texting away...i always sit there amazed...seriously...why did you come out for dinner? those people who are not in the moment but always looking to see, what's next? what else should i be doing?

notice the next time you're giving your friend, mate, child, or coworker less than your full attention...i'll bet it happens more often than you're aware...with to-do lists a mile long and constant deadlines, it's no surprise that most of us feel cut off not only from our partners and loved ones but also from ourselves...our lives are busier, faster...and we're moving further away from real connections...

you can never stray too far from what is really meaningful before losing connection with yourself and everybody else...and when you've lost that...neither at&t nor the best verizon hookup can bring it back...

so...make a change...pay attention...listen...treasure every moment...

and make a true connection...the old fashioned way...