I see you, I hear you, I'm with you

once I finish this text

Monday morning, and if you are like me (an iPhone) user, you get that notification on your phone with your previous week's screen time.

Usually, the hours and very rarely % are very much down on the week before.

And then the excuses, I need it for work, directions, maps, shopping, social media, pay for stuff, etc., etc.

So I decided not to use my phone as much and be mindful about when I would take it out.

While I was in the large queue in the shop for my lunch, I looked at the girl behind the counter, looking stressed.

When it came to my turn, I saw the girl had tears in her eyes, I asked what was wrong, and she proceeded to tell me that it was her first day on the job, and she was left on her own by the guy working with her, which left her in a panicked state, as the customers kept arriving.

I told her to check the stockroom for something "that they didn't stock there."

But sure, it was her first day; how was she to know?

What it did, though, was give her a few moments to compose herself, take a few breaths and relax before coming back out onto the shop floor.

Would I see this if I had my phone in my hand?

Would I have been present to take that moment in?

And be there for her, reassure her to go off the floor, as she was "Helping a customer."

We won't even mention the person who left her on her own in the first place, on her first day in a new environment.

I've been back to the shop a few times and haven't seen her, so I'm hoping she finished the day and never returned.

That story is not about glorifying a good deed or the poor treatment of staff;

It is about being present.

It is about the moment that would have been missed if my head was fixated on a phone screen.

What are the moments YOU are missing?

The full attention somebody needs?

The conversations we are not paying attention to?

The movies or tv shows we end up losing track of?

The example we are showing our kids, who we get frustrated with when they are on their phones or tablets?

The quality time with partners or friends in the evening or on nights out?

Or is what is on that screen more important to you?

That is your choice.

These are the things that WE are losing out on for us.

Nobody else.

Be in that moment, see how it feels, and see what we notice around us that we may not off before.

Mindfulness of this is only a start, and true mindfulness is noticing it, owning it, and then changing it.

And if anyone is interested, there may be a job available in Spar in Raheny, as they quite possibly are understaffed.

As Always

Thank you for reading.

Marcus