One of my favorite things about plane small talk is you learn things you would never have any reason to know other than you are passing time with a person telling you about something. And in order to keep the conversation not awkward, you ask questions and inquire. Or you could just put in your headphones like most people but by now, you know I am a sucker for a good random tidbit.
I was at a conference one time where a speaker said some of the most influential and successful people in the world had one thing in common – they were constantly consuming. No, not booze and carbs – consuming information about anything and everything. On average, they spend 2 hours per day just reading from sources that have nothing to do with their industry or interests, just taking in new information. So it has been my mission over the last year to just consume. For instance, usually when reading the news, I skip over the headlines I don’t have a vested interest or know too much about, which is silly because isn’t that the point of the news, to learn what you don’t know.
Insert Kate – the human newspaper I didn’t know I needed.
Kate was probably about my parents age, heading to Scottsdale to visit her sister. We started talking about her kids, who all who happen to be around my age. She was filling me in on the happenings of their lives- her middle daughter who was getting a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts with no clue what he actual job would be afterwards to begin to chisel away at her student debt. She also had a son, named Mark, that had a strikingly similarity to my brother, even down to his name.
But the most interesting of all her children was her oldest daughter who is working for a company called Yondr – it is everything we need in America. It is a company that, according to their website, is bringing back phone-free events to the arts, eduction, government and social events. Clients across all industries – everything from concert (Madonna is one of their newest clients!), schools and government facilities are taking advantage of this new device to allow us to reconnect mentally and physically in the space we are and disconnect from technology in our already hyperconnected world. It is a genius, very simple pouch that locks when you enter the venue and can be unlocked as you leave. During the event, if you need your phone for whatever reason, you can go to designated locations throughout the venue to use them but it is putting the experience back in the things we are attending and live in the present.
If I was to become First Lady, my platform would be related to kids, technology and the lost art of interpersonal skills. Have no fear, there are far too many drunk pictures of my college days on Facebook for me to pass any sort of rigorous background search to be the ideal First Lady, although our moral standards for leaders in America have significantly dropped so maybe I have a chance… Anyhooooo….
That is my passion. I don’t have kids but I fear for children of this generation – growing up not knowing how to entertain themselves without technology, talk on the phone instead of text or even tell time on an analog clock. And I think we miss out on so much in the here and now as we try to capture things so we don’t want to forget. The irony of capturing a moment is, you are spending time “doing” and not “being”, which ultimately dilutes the experiences.
I remember being at the Grand Canyon several years ago and it being one of the most beautiful sunrises ever. If you have never been, yes, it is a hole in the ground but it is a majestic, amazing, sight to see. It is indescribable and something that no matter how many pictures you take, the beauty of it can’t be captured on film. It is the peacefulness of such a giant space, it is the breeze, it is the massiveness of this thing that was not man-made. And in all honesty, if I wasn’t just standing still, taking it all in, I don’t know that I would have enjoyed it as much. It was part of the memory, not doing, just being. Just enjoying it and not worrying about the perfect Instagram caption or how many likes you will get, just taking it all in. More of that, please and thank you. Thanks Yondr for getting us closer that way.
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