Checking the Time

When I go to work at St. Mary's Hospital at the Mayo Clinic, I usually park in the East Parking Lot - a huge parking lot for Mayo employees.  I get out of my car and walk a short distance to where a Mayo bus is waiting.  The bus waits a few minutes and then proceeds to the Mayo Clinic downtown where many of the employees work.  I get off that bus and get on another that is called the "intercampus" bus, which drives about ten blocks to St. Mary's where I begin my workday.  I repeat the process in reverse when I am ready to go home.

I haven't met many people or befriended many people on these short bus excursions.  In fact, I do not believe I have met anyone that I even remotely recognize, especially if they work at St. Mary's.  I do recognize some of the bus drivers - there are fewer of them.  There is one common denominator that is present whether I am coming to work or going home that is very recognizable: the number of persons who are on their cell phones on the bus is remarkable!  I looked today when I was coming home and - no kidding - almost 100% of the persons who were heading home were on their cell phones - checking texts or Twitter posts, talking to loved ones, watching videos from Instagram, or if you are old school, checking the emails on your phone.  

I don't have any issues with anyone who is on their cell phone.  I do wonder what life was like before we got them.  I can only imagine I might have met someone and actually talked with them while on the bus.  I can only speculate that over the sound of the air brakes we might hear conversation between people who know one another.  

I do know this - cell phones are an amazing invention that is not going away any time soon.  It was back in the middle of the last century when speculation about what the future might look like was interestingly accurate.  Like this clipping from The Tacoma News Tribune from 1953.  Or the forward-thinking comic strip Dick Tracy, showing his two-way tv wristwatch.  In some ways, these predictions were uncanny in their accuracy.

But there are things that we sacrifice for the convenience and ability to connect is these modern "space age" ways.  We miss the connectivity of relationships.  It's so easy to talk on the smartphone or text someone or even FaceTime with them (which is closer but still lacks that warmth of the human touch).  But in this time in which we live, it is much harder to meet people and talk with them face to face.  

We have forgotten how to do that, quite frankly: how to meet others in the scope of normal everyday living.  Think about it - how challenging is it to strike up a conversation with someone who is using their smartphone?  Or even not using one, we lack the skill set that would have been developed over the years - where we learned how to converse with one another.

Trust me, I use my smartphone everyday:  I check arrangements with our family members; I want to know what today's weather will be like; I need to take a photo of our dog Maisy doing something that only dogs can do; I need to post that once in a lifetime picture instantly on my Facebook account; I check the news; I listen to podcasts; I set up live stream for worship services; I get updates on sports scores; and I can map out the next travel destination.  There are thousands of things I can do with my smartphone.  I would miss many things if I didn't have a smartphone.  I'm confident I would survive, but life would seem much quieter and simpler.

But I can't check the smartphone's feelings like I can when I'm talking with someone about their challenges.  I can't know the pain the smartphone might be going through like I can when someone is hurting.  I can't receive a warm hug from a smartphone like I can from a friend or a loved one.  For as much as the smartphone can bring to my world, it cannot bring me meaningful relationships with my friends - or begin ones with strangers, for that matter.  It requires personal interaction, something we need to be better at.  I do think about what this world would be like if we spent as much time cultivating our one-to-one relationships as we do checking our devices.

I'm not advocating anyone get rid of their devices.  I would guess that some are reading this post right now on a device.  But look up every so often and breathe in the air others are breathing.  Check in with a friend by meeting them face-to-face.  Put the phone down and read a book.  Paint a picture.  Go for a walk to see the fall colors on the landscape.  Don't miss the joys this life has to offer just for the sake of checking your phone.  It will be there.  Give yourself the gift of time.

"Time is a gift. But the wise know that this gift will eventually run out."

Psalm 90:12