Look Up

"Look up from your phone, shut down that display
- take in your surroundings and make the most of today."

— Gary Turk, Look Up 2014

It was a busy yet quiet morning commute on the train. When I noticed a curious new passenger. A toddler sitting on her mum’s lap, quietly studying the commuters around her one by one. I followed her gaze and realised that every single person was looking down at a screen.

As I watched her, our eyes met, hers wide with surprise. I smiled. She smiled back. I ducked behind the seat in front of me. She sat very still, waiting. When I reappeared, she burst into a loud giggle. Heads began to lift. One by one, our fellow passengers looked up, their curiosity peeked. The sudden attention made her giggle again, prompting more grins. Within minutes the entire carriage was smiling, and this little girl was beaming with joy!

It was one of those rare, magical moment revealing the power of …

✔️ looking up ✔️a smile ✔️eye contact ✔️human connection

That morning, 10 years ago, was a turning point for me. I realised that by looking down on my phone so often, I had been slowly disconnecting from my surroundings, from others and from myself. And I was not the only one.

As an emotional wellbeing practitioner, that moment deepened my work in ways I hadn’t anticipated. As my awareness of automatic behaviours with technology grew, I began exploring how to use it more consciously and then enabled my clients to do the same.

. . . . .

This month, I invite you to try this tiny experiment:

. . . . .

Wherever you are, look up from your phone. It could be when you are:

at the bus stop                        waiting in line                         on the train

sitting in a café                       at the playground                   at the beach

Look up from your screen when someone speaks to you at home.

Fully.

It matters more than you think.

We live in an age of fast evolving technology, yet the most meaningful moments still happen in the space between people, not between a person and their phone.

. . . . .

May is the perfect month to practice this. The days are longer, nature comes alive, bank holiday weekends stretch comfortably to 3 days. Small moments of connection are everywhere, waiting to be noticed.

Look up, take in your surroundings and dare to be the change you want to see in your organisation, family, community and life!

Image Credit: Photo by Ravi Kant from Pexels