(For anyone with an ambivalent relationship with their smart phone.)
I'm sitting in a waiting room looking down at my little notebook with five strangers looking down at their phones. What would it be like if we straightened our necks, looked at one another and said a few words? Maybe awkward. Maybe endearing. Maybe two of us would have an unbelievable connection. Ms. Divine confiscating my smart phone 2 years ago. I'd left it in my car with my purse for five minutes to walk my daughter into a class. In that short time I confronted the director of the "school," who had ignored my recent email. I'd politely expressed concern about 9 year old's using phones in class with their peers watching on, whatever they wanted...movies, ...porn,.. I didn't know,.. neither did the teachers. It seemed the only reason to allow phones was to occupy those who disrupt class. I'm not the yelling or screaming type. My anger is the red face, pressured voice ...'My head is about to explode from holding it in' type. Upon returning to my car and seeing the shattered glass, I sense divine intervention - some meaning had to be glean from this. It was as if the very moment I'd bypassed my bigger wiser self and allowed my smaller self to become infuriated, Ms. Divine (in the form of a young man addicted to heroine, who really didn't want to cause me harm, but really did need to get his fix), was saying, "You don't like cell phones? No worries, I'll take that little screen off your hands...along with with some credit cards and cash." I felt a great sense of peace. 2 years later... I go on to become a less reactive non-smart phone user, my daughter goes on to private tutoring, the young man, who broke my window, moves past his addiction and finds a connection with himself and others (I hope)...and the people here in the waiting room...well,...they're still together,...alone and seemingly very content on their smart phones. Courtney A Brown To send this note to a friend:
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(For anyone working at not taking on other's irritability/negativity.)
You're going about your day in a lovely mood, when all of sudden you happen upon a grouchy other. Their anger lands on you and sticks. You could say they've handed you their negativity on a platter and you accepted. You move on feeling a bit ticked off, and before you know it, you're handing the platter to the next unsuspecting villager. Unburdened, you feel a bit better. Depending on how often the platter is passed and accepted, irritation spreads exponentially throughout the village. Or ... You're going about your day in a lovely mood, when another attempts to hand you their platter of irritability. Instead of accepting, you smile, and say, "No, thank you, I couldn't possibly...you keep that all for yourself." You walk on quickly so as not to get hit by anything flying off the platter. Or,... You notice the platter, look past it as if it's not there and you speak to the better part of the grumpy villager - the part they've forgotten is there. You may be like the story character, Pollyanna, who on the surface seems naive, but instead is fearlessly wise. Undeterred by the platters, you approach with an open heart and unsettle the wounded perspective. Some will set down their platter. Some may even accept your cup of tea spilling over with grace. If they do, you can assume they'll offer it to the next villager they come upon. Courtney A Brown To send this note to a friend: |
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"Divine" references the soul, our collective souls and the mystery of life. ArchivesCategories
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