I was just standing on line at a large coffee chain – yes, that one – and the lady in front of me was playing a game on her phone. I couldn’t help but think how technology has gone way beyond convenient and into territory where we use it to fill even the smallest of spaces. I don’t know that lady. Perhaps she just bought the phone yesterday and her friend recommended the game, and it’s only her second day ever playing it. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to remind us all about balance. I am just as guilty as the next person of picking up digital distractions.

My smartphone, tablet, mp3 player, and other modern marvels have truly enhanced my life. However, I have allowed them to invade it as well. The point is that while there is nothing wrong with picking technology up, we have to remember to also put it down. While that lady I mentioned just before was lost on her digital island, trying to line up shapes to score points, I had a connective moment to think and reflect about myself, the other people in my life and the world we all live in. The couple behind me enjoyed each other’s company and embrace, and the man behind them was actually networking with another member of the line.

Every minute provides opportunities to connect and grow – to develop and build in positive ways. Video games can be entertaining, and texts and emails help us enjoy the vast virtual world we live in. But are they really worth trading away the chance to be present in the actual one – right here, right now – at this very moment?

Perhaps we can find the middle ground between the two, and forge a path that allows us to get the best of both.

Ok, I’m stepping off of my milk crate. Enough said (for now).