Young woman in a coffee shop

Phone Down, Eyes Up

Try this experiment: the next time you’re waiting — for coffee, for a friend, for an elevator — don’t reach for your phone.

Just stand there. Be a person in a room. Watch what happens. You’ll notice things: the barista’s very precise method for wiping the counter, the stranger who smiles because you accidentally made eye contact, the ambient noise of a world that exists entirely without your input. The urge to grab your phone will be strong. That urge, right there, is worth noticing. It’s basically a fire alarm going off every 45 seconds. Mindfulness is noticing the alarm before you automatically pull it.

Time required: However long the wait is. You were going to stand there anyway.


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