Life Outside the Screen

What would it be like to put down our phones and listen to the music playing all around us?

The other day, I was having lunch at a popular restaurant in my hometown. Its downtown location makes it a good place for business lunches. In my case, I was reconnecting with a mentor.

It was a good thing I got there early, because the place was packed. I’d never seen it so full before. I grabbed a table and waited for my mentor to join me. As I sat down, I was faced with a dilemma that many of you will resonate with, I’m sure.

I was “just sitting there” and my phone was in my pocket. Emails and social media began to call my name.

Usually, I say yes. It’s so easy to grab my phone and enter into a mobile screen-sized world. This time, however, I said no. I had a moment of clarity and realized that the world doesn’t always fit onto a screen.

Instead, I looked around the restaurant at the people around me. I looked outside at the bustling city in the beautiful sunlight.

I thought about the amazing potential of that moment. The conversations all around me could be the beginning of a major business transaction. Or maybe friends are reconnecting. Or maybe someone just needed another person to talk to, and this lunch conversation is helping them grow.

I looked around. I didn’t see anyone I knew. I wasn’t eavesdropping on the conversations. I can’t tell you what a single person said.

But it was beautiful.

It was some of the best music I’ve heard in a long time. It felt good to simply let a moment happen to me instead of trying to be “on” all the time. I’ll be honest…

…it felt good to unplug.

I feel like I’m always doing multiple things. Even when Sarah and I are watching Netflix, my phone is with me. Sometimes I’m responding to an important email, but most of the time I’m either on social media or playing a mind-numbing game. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those things. I love social media! And sometimes after a long day at work, it’s nice to relax and play a game on my phone.

But there also need to be times where I pull away and connect with the larger world around me. Why is that so hard? What’s with my constant obsession with my phone?

I see now that I’ve been trading what’s better for what’s good. That’s not a trade I want to keep making. Social media is good. Games are less good, but in moderation they’re fine.

But, most of the time, what’s going on outside my screen is better.

I want to hear more of the music of humanity around me. I wish they’d put out a single so I could download it and listen to it on my…never mind. That’s the beauty of the music — it takes place outside the screen. We have to broaden our view if we’re going to hear it.

I want to make it a point over the next few weeks to intentionally seek out more of those moments. I want a worldview that’s bigger than a screen. I don’t want to miss the beautiful music that’s being played around me.

An Encouragement and a Request

I leave you with two things — one encouragement and one small request.

The request is this: please tell me how you do it. I’m trying to learn about unplugging and listening to the music around me. How do you find time to do that? What are the best ways you’ve found to have intentional time outside the screen? Respond to this post and let me know. I’d love to hear from your perspective.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with an encouragement. If you haven’t tried this before, take a small step today. The world looks so small when we confine it to a screen. Don’t get me wrong: I love technology! I love social media and I love being able to connect with people all the time. But that’s the issue — we love it all so much that, at times, we let it consume us.

So take some time today to intentionally get outside the screen. You’ll be amazed at the beautiful music playing all around you.