An ordinary phone
for getting connected
with someone absent.
A ‘smart’phone
for getting disconnected
from someone present.
From ‘Coming to Our Senses’ & ‘Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness’ by Jon Kabat Zinn:
‘With our cell phones and PDAs [before smartphone days], we are now able to be in touch with anyone and everyone at any time. In the process, we run the risk of never being in touch with ourselves… What about not connecting with anyone in our ‘in-between; moments? What about realizing that there are actually no in-between moments at all? What about being in touch with who is on this end of the line, not the other end? What about calling ourselves up for a change, and checking in, seeing what we are up to? What about just being in touch with how we are feeling, even in those moments when we may be feeling numb, or overwhelmed, or bored, or disjointed, or anxious or depressed, or needing to get one more thing done?’
[ad#comingtooursenses]
Being able to connect,
to anybody, anytime, anywhere,
often makes us “absent” in mind,
to everybody, everytime, everywhere.
Just a thought drawn years back…
http://littlenotesjetty.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post_08.html
Preoccupied on the line, we become near but not here.
Though elsewhere, we can be far but present.
The paradox of communication devices!
(~)
Amituofo