1 Connection to Disconnection

Many people in this world never look up.

I'm currently walking through a park, and everyone around me is glued to a screen of sorts. It's utterly atrocious.

Hi I'm Maye by the way. I live in New York. The Big Apple. Been here my whole life. One thing that I always loved about New York was the bustling, busy streets. Lawyers, models, aspiring actresses and all the other normal people, chatting away about the next best thing. I'm 32, I'd like to think I've been around for a while. At least long enough to complain about change.

See, New York is still extremely busy. The difference now is, everyone has their nose stuffed so far into a screen that they can't see what's in front of them. I mean, the other day, I watched a stunning looking man, I mean IMMACULATE, bump into a very beautiful girl. She dropped a sketch book she was holding, in her other hand, her cellphone. The man picked it up for her, handed it to her and then paused. He paused to admire her beautiful auburn hair, messy and jaw length, with many layers. He paused to look as her mouth curved up into a smile as she found amusement in something on her screen. After a minute she looked up for a single second, gave him a flat smile, said; "Sorry about that", then walked away. He stared after her, then shook his head and walked away. And standing on the outside looking in, you could see he'd never forget the girl who never met his gaze.

See now, when I was a teen, if that happened... I would have seen his gaze. I would have tucked my hair behind my ear and shied away from eye contact and blushed. I would have been so dumbfounded that anyone in the world could look at me like that. Then I'd wait for him to ask my name, and a little to eagerly blurt it out, then correct my tone with a short, whisper... saying my name again. I wouldn't have missed the moment. Because that girl was so drawn to her screen, she missed what could have been such a crucial moment in her life. Now none of us, not even her, will know what she truly missed out on that day.

Phones...

They're despicable pieces of technology that distract everyone from living their best life. They distract from the outside world, which is so full of wonder and beauty. They create a bubble of protection, a shield which cowards can hide behind. When I was in high school, you knew people didn't like you by the way they looked at you. By the way the spoke about you. Now, I know someone doesn't like me when they unfollow me on some social media platform that I barely even use.

I was once out with my husband, Dennis, and we were walking around a park. Enjoying the fresh air, the nature around us and laughing and smiling. We were making eye contact, and we were just being silly, like lovers sometimes do. We walked past two teens on a bench, supposedly on a date. Nice looking kids. Yet the only reason we thought they were on a date was because they were holding hands, their other hand occupied by a cellphone. both of them expressionless. At one point the boy looked up at us as we walked by, squeezed his girlfriend's hand and mumbled something along the lines of; "They sure are cozy". The girl didn't even look up! She just nodded and gave a curt, nonchalant; "Mhm", and continued scrolling on her phone.

I grimaced as I saw this and squeezed my husband's arm. He looked down at me and smiled a soft smile, asking me what the matter was. I motioned towards the teens and he understood, his expression too souring. I sighed and looked up at him; "Love, please promise me that if we ever have children, we'll show them that there is a world so much more beautiful, outside of a screen?" I asked him, my voice soft, but desperate. He put his arm around my shoulder, hugged me closer to him and kissed the crown on my head. He then looked me in my eyes and said to me; "When we have children, all they'll have to do is look to you. They wouldn't see a need to stick their nose into a screen, because just by looking at your eyes, and hearing the way you talk about things, they'll see the beauty of the world shine through their gorgeous mother."

I felt myself choke up, but swallowed it down, giving my husband a relieved and thankful smile. I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek, not knowing what else to do in response to his beautiful words.

Connection is so important. It's so easy to miss, and when you do you never know if you can get it back. People nowadays tend to look for connection by disconnecting from the real world and delving into a virtual one. What if that girl had been me 12 years ago when I met Dennis? I would've missed my shot at a beautiful, happy marriage. Disconnecting from screens is the only way we can connect to people. There needs to be a balance from Connection to Disconnection, or else we'll miss the moments we so desperately long for when we watch romance movies, or read online books, or scroll enviously through couples' Instagram pages. If only, once in a while, people would look up from their screens, they'd see that the outside world is so much more interesting than the one that takes them away from it. Maybe that girl would have fallen in love. Maybe that couple would appreciate each other more. Maybe all of them would see that what was right in front of them was a thing of beauty.

Connection to disconnection. There's always a balance when it comes to which one we want more.