Sit Down Next To Old People...

Want to be more present? Go be around some old people in public places. ​

​One of my favorite moments the night before I left Barcelona, was sitting in a Laundry Mat, waiting for my clothes to finish drying.

Most of the time my phone is either not with me, or on airplane mode. I’m usually the guy in public places just sitting there, doing nothing, which I notice makes other people quite uncomfortable at times.

Anyway, back to my story.

This old couple sat down beside me on the bench, and the 3 of us, for the next 15 minutes, just sat their. Looking straight ahead, at a wall with a sign on it, for the entire time. Scattered throughout the area were individuals frantically scrolling their smart phones every 15 seconds. Unable to not do anything.

It’s a worrying time when the majority of your awake hours are spent distracting yourself and being completely unconscious to everything but your phone or gadget. We are in the final phase of being able to be around humans who spent their entire lives without computers and intelligent phones. Humans who have not lost their lives to technology.

Ideally we will in some way choose conscious and purposeful boredom(where inspiration and relaxation emerges from) over obsolete distraction and non-presence.(where fight or flight, disconnection, and a whole range of problems grow from)

Our society depends on its humans to not internally retard their potential for living.

Go be around some old people sitting down smiling at a another human eating a sandwich, or something along those lines. Allow yourself be bored with nothing to do. Because that’s where YOU live.

​Chris