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It's a shame about that internet in'it?

wifiThe internet brings the world to our fingertips - but, as Chris Duffett found, it can also mean we miss the people right beneath our noses.



It’s a shame about that internet he said
As he stood for his stop
I didn’t understand what he meant and mumbled about tunnels and poor reception as I stared at his faded tattoos

Then I twigged.

He had sat right in front of me for 27 minutes, ready to talk, in need for an open ear for which to pour, and like all the other commuters around him I had my eyes firmly fixed on the small touch screen. He was unseen, invisible through my cloak of distraction. Of no value to me when I had the world at my fingertips

What was he?

Scrolling through nothingness which I will never remember

Yet he and his statement will stick. It’s a shame about that internet, in’it? I’m a full week back in the swing of things after having 3 weeks internet free and phone free.

It was like going through cold turkey not having it and I had tried to justify why I needed to take my smart phone with me on holiday: I needed the sat nav on it, the camera, the games, the TV, the audio books to entertain the children on a long journey, the emergency call- just in case, the shopping and bank statements. The email. In the end I threw it in a draw and like an addict, I turned my back on it and walked away… for three weeks. It was glorious.

What got me was the guy on the train who spoke words of truth, God words without realising it. We can miss the people right beneath our noses and who are an arm's width away.

I’m going to try and fast form my phone as much as I can, and discipline the times I use it.
 


Chris DuffettChris Duffett is founder of The Light Project and was President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain in 2012. He is involved in Celebrate Norfolk and lives in East Anglia.
 

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