Put that phone away

I wish I could have taken a picture of what I saw on the London underground yesterday. I decided to not take my iPhone out of my bag, and just sit on the tube and be present, observing people (I work in user experience so I have a natural curiosity about human behaviour). And what I noticed was that every single person - sitting to the right of me - was glued to their mobile phones. Some with headphones on, other's reading through what was probably news items, sports new, Kindle books, showbiz news, and possibly Facebook ,Twitter and Instagram.

I suddenly felt sad. Sad that people are actually not observing their surroundings. Not noticing the energies around them, the people, and the situations. I then wished to be in an alternative time period. One where there were no phones, and iPods, where people sat on the tube, either with their books or just being present to the moment.

Talking about books, I miss not seeing what another soul is reading (because I am intrigued

to what other people are reading and why). With the advent of Kindle, you will never know what the person opposite you is reading. I think that is a shame. I remember looking at this one girl on a tube a few years ago, she was reading the same book as me, and I randomly started a conversation. That is quite rare for me to do - to start a conversation - as like everyone else there is a sense of fear of not looking stupid when trying to engage in a conversation with a stranger.

Even yesterday on my tube journey home, I put my phone away. And at Mile End two guys got on, who where wearing Arsenal football scarfs. I then remembered it was the night of the big match "Arsenal vs Man City". The guys were speaking Spanish (I recognised some words). I wanted to strike up a conversation, and ask them about the match. I waited for one of the guys to catch my eye. I was both nervous and yet keen to speak to them. I then told myself, "don't do it" - and then something in me said "why not?!" - so finally I got the courage and said over to one of the guys "what was the score tonight?" - he smiled and said "2-1 - thank God". That started a conversation about the match and football in general (p.s. I am a big football fan!) and it was nice. For the 10 minute journey that they were on the train for, it felt nice to connect to other souls on similar interests, getting their insights, views and just have a general banter. If I had my head stuck in my phone, I would have missed this opportunity.

Going forward I've decided to put my phone away a lot more during my travels (or at least aim to break the habit). I want MORE connection in life. To people, my environment and feel that I am not far off being 100% present to the moment. It's not going to be easy, but one thing I do know is that I love human connections. There are so many lives running parallel to mine, and I just don't know where I'll meet someone new or connect to another soul, no matter how small that feeling turns out to be. I will definitely miss these opportunities if I have my head glued to my phone.

I go travelling soon and I have made a promise myself, that I will try to engage - post capturing my memories - more with the strangers around me. Who knows if there is going to be a connection or not. I'd rather try and know than be left wondering - what if. So as we are nearing the end of 2015 I have my first 2016 New Year's resolution (do people still do these?). I will try and whisper a kind but important message to myself during travels "put that phone away."