Waiting for Things

It has become natural for me to open my phone while I wait for things, justifying the habit through the many tasks I can complete - texts, emails, finances, task tracking, calendar management, etc. I even started drafting this from the back of an Uber.

Last weekend I went into a shop to order coffee, and I opened my phone the second I left the cash register. I stared at the screen for a moment before realizing that I hadn’t intended to accomplish any tasks, just distract myself while the time passed. I wondered how often I did this - distract myself while the time passed.

I looked up and noticed the room. The shop wasn’t breathtaking, but it was beautiful in a subtle way: clean, high ceilings, big windows, a few plants, wooden tables and matching shelves. I wondered how many people worked to put it all together. It was a large open room with multiple entrances, but I was the only customer. I moved to the windows, noticing seagulls floating beneath a few fluffy clouds. I thought, “Life is interesting, so waiting for things must be interesting too”.