We have become a self-absorbed, technology driven society. We have reached heightened levels of efficiency that are continuously doubling, tripling, and then some every year. Medical technology and treatment continue to amaze us in the care and cures we find. We have connected social media platforms that allow us to check-in, call a ride, pay with a click or scan, and review any business we want. We are now able to stay connected easily through pictures and posts of those friends and acquaintances that may live much further away.
While all of this has been convenient (once you become acquainted with the technology), we are truly missing the bigger picture here.
We have become consumed within our own little technology bubble in life. Our phones are with us every waking second. Mine sits next to me as I type this and sleeps next to me on the nightstand every night. It wakes me up in the morning with a screeching alarm that I have lately become accustomed to snoozing one too many times. Our phones (and iPads too) are the way we consume our free time. We use them in the airport before we board that next flight, in line waiting at the grocery store, between (and in) classes, on our breaks, to entertain children at the table, and pretty much every down second we have.
While yes, it is wonderful to be able to check the traffic, weather, and then some at the touch of a finger, why don’t we go outside and feel how the warmth of the sun feels on our own skin? Or maybe you’ll be lucky enough to catch that sunrise or sunset and then you can be your own judge of what to wear or do next.
But these days, it is has become as if we can’t stand the thought of missing out on the latest updates on what is going on in the lives around us. The only thing is no matter how connected we are, we have already missed it.
While your head was down and buried in the technology in your hands, you missed the opportunity to greet the stranger next to you. For all you know, you could have heard a piece of their life story and that may have enlightened you on something in your own life. Or maybe you spent that whole time in the airport missing out on watching people; people being in the moment. People in the moment of the hustle and bustle, so that you could appreciate them for their journey or just the beauty of mankind in general. Or what about actually engaging with the store clerk you were too busy to acknowledge once you reached the counter because you were still checking all of your friends’ “updates”. Incase you forgot, that person behind the counter is working their job just like you most likely you do too. They have given their time to yes, to make money, but also serve you. Is it that difficult to greet them with a hello and ask how his or her day is going? In some ways this is small talk, but the small talk these days is worth so much more.
We know it’s dangerous to text and drive, yet most of us are still guilty (even if it is “just at the stop light”). Once again, we are missing the bigger picture here. We are so consumed by the latest message on our phone that our own safety and the safety of those around us is put at risk. And to make things even worse, we have created a whole industry of fame out of this. While I did go to school for a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Marketing and understand the importance of playing an active role in social media as a business, the rate of those who continue to be endorsed because of their social media posts is appalling. We have allowed your average person to attain millions of followers because he or she has the right physique or likes to offer advice on how to eat healthy (for example) and then get sponsored by businesses for it. There are, in fact, several benefits to this. More knowledge on healthy eating, for example, the better for our obese society. But if you really think about it for a second, most times people are regurgitating skewed information they read somewhere else or copied from someone else they follow. But don’t worry, if they’re not going that, they are probably offering you some quick-fix diet trick with result pictures to go along with it so you’re drawn in that much more. In other words, it has become this endless cycle that sometimes includes people giving away their hard-earned money to be apart of the latest and greatest 30-day challenge. In it all, we are just losing ourselves to better identify with the identity of those which we wish we could be more like.
As the social media and technology-driven way of life continues to advance small talk isn’t so small anymore. In its rare and natural state, it is simply becoming one of the most beautiful things mankind can offer. It includes that tricky little thing known as ENGAGING and giving PRESENCE to the moment. To go even further, beyond small talk you will find a real conversation. Now, I don’t mean to scare you with this, but it doesn’t include any fingerprints on a keyboard or Siri doing it for you. It is about being in the moment and actually listening to the life story of those around you. Those life stories are what help shape yours.
You may wonder why one would consider a life-story to start with the small talk between you and a stranger… Well here it is from my perspective:
People are put in this world to be apart of one another’s lives. There are no rules as to whether these people have to have a positive or negative influence on one another’s lives, the choice is yours. People teach one another what is right and wrong. We understand beauty when we have seen hardship. And we all know the only thing we leave behind is the legacy of the life we lived.
Living life isn’t about communicating via technology or social media channels. Truly living means giving presence to the world around you and the beauty of a moment. Whether it be the agonizing thought of getting out of bed to go to work on Monday or the fact that you ate one too may cookies the other night, you are so lucky to be there right that second. You are a raw, flawed human-being and you are living. Because with those bad decisions or hard-times you have faced, you have seen some of the most magnificent things too. It can be the beauty of watching the snow slowly begin to fall, the home-cooked meal in front of you, or the curiosity of a child; it doesn’t matter. What matters is being PRESENT to appreciate the simple things that make up the adventure of life. There isn’t much of an adventure when you are so consumed by staying connected on social media when everyone you are connected to is just as consumed with themselves too. With that, there is no real connection at all.
So be PRESENT because small talk really isn’t so small.
Love Defies 