The art of the undistracted

I want you to think back to the last "deep talk" you had with someone. You know, one of those talks where you open up to someone else about the things going on in your life or the things that your feeling. Or maybe someone else opened up to you. Either way, those talks are the ones you remember. They make an impact. Anytime I have one, whether its with my best friend or my mom, I become closer to the person I'm having the conversation with. There is something so special, so unique about those moments. So you've got your "deep talk" memory in your mind, right? Okay, so lets take that memory and imagine the person your talking to is on Instagram the whole conversation. They occasionally nod and say "yeah" to whatever you're saying. They don't even make eye contact with you when they look up from their phone because  the TV is on too. You'll probably get uncomfortable trying to open up to them when they aren't even paying attention to you. All the "deepness" of this conversation is gone forever. Poof. No more. Pretty depressing huh?

Being distracted is so easy. In fact, too often it becomes second nature to us. Our culture is ADD. 

What's sad is that the more distracted we are, not only by social media (although that's like 95% of the problem these days), the more we mentally and physically aren't able to have those "deep talks". We loose the closeness between each other. The worst part? We even loose our personality, living mentally in another world. 

So you've thought about what the receiving end of a distracted conversation looks like. You would probably feel a little hurt, and even more annoyed with the other person. After all, it's rude of them. It shows a major red flag of immaturity. So why would you think it's okay for you to be distracted like that?

 It's simple logic. When you are not paying attention you are most certainly, without a doubt, no questions asked, missing something. You might have missed something someone had to say. Maybe you missed what someone was trying to show or teach you. Either way, you missed out on a opportunity to make your life meaningful, no matter how small a way. 

So my friends, I am calling you out today to turn off your phones, your TVs, your computers, and your radios and do something meaningful. Respect others, cultivate relationships, be creative, be who you really are beyond the screens and other distractions. When you put away the distractions in your life, you will discover what it's like to really live.

-Madison