Human Interaction

I can remember holiday shopping as a kid.  I had fun seeing all of the people, the decorations, the whole "Mall Experience."

Even as I got older, there was something to be said for the good parts of being out amongst people during this time of the year.  Sure, there were always impatient people, angry people, self-entitled people, and well...those other groups.

Even if I was running behind in my shopping, I would get myself in the mindset that I am about the embark on a journey.  No expectations other than to enjoy the journey.  If I find what I need- Bonus!

As I talked with many people about their Black Friday shopping plans, I found something interesting to be the norm.  All of these people that we setting out to get the deals were not intending on buying gifts for others...they were going out to buy for themselves. 

Things have changed since I was a kid.  Things that I never could have imagined.

We are taking the social out of society!

An incredible amount of people shop online to "avoid the lines."  This feels unhealthy in so many ways.  First, we are not getting out an interacting with people.  So what?  I see people getting out of practice with the art of conversation or appropriate social behavior for that matter.  People work from home, shop from home, Netflix and Hulu.  Even when they are out, they are attached to others artificially by means of the screen.

One of the issues that I am noticing with our society if that our version of reality is no longer built upon the real world.  We believe and create our world view based on those that are on the outside reporting the world to us through their bias and world view.  This is not okay.

Society cannot stand without social interactions.  We need to stand in long lines and have human interaction.  We need to practice our courtesies and human emotions in the real world.  We need to allow ourselves to get frustrated and impatient to practice our responses.  We are losing all of this by closing ourselves off to the real world while we let our screens dictate who we are in our "reality of virtual lives."  ...because our virtual lives have become our reality.

Sure, shop online.  Most malls have gone out of business.  But let's be mindful of the social element of life.

-Human Interaction.

Be Mindful.

Peace.

Mark Levine

#Mindfulliteracy
@LevineWrites