Is Everyone Somewhere Else?
by Tony Brady
How can we be more present in a time where we are surrounded by mobile devices which offer us distraction at the touch of a button? We live in a world where information is at our fingertips, useful information, real time transport information, weather forecasts, the news, not to mention emails, text messaging, skyping and a bewildering array of apps. We need to open this discussion. Suggestions are welcome.
Transcript
Dear friends,
As I travelled on a bus into the city the other night I couldn't help but notice how absent everyone else in sight seemed to be.
I was sitting on the back seat of the bus,
Two people to my right,
Two to my left,
And four people occupying the two seats which faced the back seat.
Everyone was in the head bent over posture,
All engrossed in their phones.
The thought accord to me is everyone somewhere else,
Which is the inspiration for this little reflection.
Now I have to confess that I am as addicted to my mobile devices as everyone else.
It's hard not to be.
We live in a world where information is at our fingertips,
Useful information,
Real-time transport information,
Weather forecasts,
The news,
Not to mention emails,
Text messaging,
WhatsApping,
Skyping and a bewildering array of apps,
Not least of which is our own Insight Timer app,
Which means so much to everyone listening to this.
But it was the unbroken array of fellow passengers,
Each absorbed in their personal devices,
Which struck me on that journey.
It was that magical time of day.
You know the time when light is slowly giving way to darkness,
The sky sinking through deepening mystical shades of blue,
The lights of premises coming on,
The comings and goings of people on the busy city streets,
The vibrancy and energy outside,
All unnoticed by the passengers within.
It reminded me of the poem by Max Ehrman,
The inspired writer of Desiderata.
For listeners who may not know of the piece,
I'll read it now.
I would,
If I could,
Bring back into fashion the moon and the stars,
The dawn and the sunset.
I rarely hear anyone speak of them.
One would think these perpetual wonders had passed from sight.
There is peace and rest in the contemplation of these miracles that nature paints on the canvas of the sky.
But we do not want peace and rest.
We are enamoured of noise and motion.
A St Vitus dance has seized us.
Things must change.
The nerves have a limit of endurance.
Tonight I looked at the moon for a while.
There was a faint circle around it.
A friend came by and asked what I was looking at.
I pointed to the moon.
I don't see anything.
The moon,
I said.
He chuckled and went on.
He will report me as growing queer.
The mystery of the night,
And our own mystery.
Who knows what we are?
No science has yet grasped us.
The moon,
Beautiful,
Mystical moon,
Playing nightly to empty seats.
Words of Max Ehrman The moon playing nightly to empty seats.
And yes,
In the case of that bus journey,
The city moving from day to night,
And no one looking out to notice the magic of the change.
It strikes me that all of us,
Yes you and I,
Would be well advised to curb our tendency to lift and open the addictive multi-purpose gadget each time we find ourselves with a few spare moments on our hands.
Have we lost the ability to sit and simply be,
And to enjoy the gift of idleness,
The joy of doing nothing?
Yes,
It is useful,
Even necessary in a way,
To check the time of connecting transport.
And handy even to be able to turn on the heat remotely before heading home on a chilly night.
It's useful to know whether we need to wrap up or to bring an umbrella.
And it's great to be in touch with friends.
Wonderful to be able so easily to exchange messages and to see how our friends are getting on.
But we can get lost in the virtual world,
Even ignoring the people we are with as we communicate with people whom we have never met and are never likely to meet in real life.
This can be seen in restaurants and at dining tables every day.
And we who participate in this escape from the precious here and now are the losers.
I have no idea how best we might fix this.
There is such comfort,
Such security in having with us a device which connects us to the greater world.
We can hardly contemplate leaving the magical gadget at home.
But maybe we should try,
From time to time,
To turn off our devices,
To turn them offline unless and until we really need to use them.
Can we have something on our opening screens to prompt us with a question such as,
Is this escape from the real world necessary just now?
And to remind us to ask ourselves what are we escaping from?
Maybe it cannot be boredom.
How can we be bored if we open our eyes to the magic of the world that surrounds us?
More likely the reason for our addiction is habit.
And if it is habit maybe we should ask ourselves if it is a habit we should try to change.
We have the ability to make any practice a habit.
And with practice and a firm decision we can break an undesirable habit.
I'm sure we would all welcome any ideas that people might like to offer in response to these thoughts.
Namaste.
4.8 (619)
Recent Reviews
Nidra
October 1, 2025
Valuable message for us all. Beautifully told and lovingly shared. Many thanks. ❤️♾️🪽
Tara
September 2, 2025
Goodness, Tony, I can only imagine that this situation has multiplied considerably since you first shared this in 2019! The late singer, Prince, warned ‘use the internet, don’t let it use you’ Thank you for a thought provoking message! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
ANDRE
May 22, 2025
I love the words which will stay with me..the moon playing to empty seats..I must pull up a chair tonight..Thank you for this reminder.
🌜HaileOnWheels🌛
April 22, 2025
Love your voice (and beautiful accent) sweet soul. Great talk; short, sweet, to the point! ✨🙏✨
Shaunna
March 1, 2025
I've noticed the same and if only everyone would remember the joy in a simple, bus conversation.
Leila
July 17, 2024
Beautiful, why don’t we acknowledge the moon more? and we are the losers when we miss out on the present moment
Rose
March 7, 2024
Such a valid point; we are making a tool into a crutch. Thank you
Donna
January 19, 2024
Tony, I’m completely with you on minimizing interaction with our cell phones! To me, the biggest thing to avoid is social media—it creates false community and spreads misinformation. I’d rather get to know my actual neighbors and people at my work and in my community. I find that simple rule goes a long way to minimizing the time I spend on my iPhone. I use it regularly for specific tasks and communications, but don’t look to it to fill my time. Donna
Barb
December 11, 2022
Thank Tony, so true I’m guilty as well. I am on vacation and am doing better to put down my phone to enjoy spending time with family so I’m not on it as much but we rely on them so much. I hope all is well with you and your family. 🙏🏻💕
Adri
October 8, 2022
People increasingly tend to connect with devices rather than with the world and the people around them. Thanks for pointing out how much we miiss when habit becomes addiction. Awareness helps. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻
Wendy
October 25, 2020
I watched The Social Dilemma last week. It gives some insight into why some apps are so addicting. It was eye-opening for me.
Cris
April 6, 2020
It's nice to hear that you actually share that you're confounded as to what to do about this dilemma with the balance of the pros and cons versus the addictiveness of it. Maybe having vacations from technology and boundaries around it is what little we can do, sometimes limiting the apps that are on the phone, and NOT looking at news/ social media/ texting / emails til AFTER doing our morning meditation, that's what I try to do. I know someone who keeps a calendar and puts a star on everyday she's able to do it, a paper calendar that is! I think part of the issue is many of us have fomo, fear of missing out! Especially now with all of us being confined to our houses it gives us the illusion that we're definitely missing out on things even though technically we shouldn't be! But technology seems to be our only connection to the world some powers that be (both political parties), Big Fear from Big Industry, Big Money, Big Pharma, Big Chem, Big Sugar, Big (processed) Food etc... may want it this way so we will consume note of what they want to line their pockets, so we need to remember that WE have control over what WE LET INTO OUR SPACE, be it mental physical emotional or spiritual!
Catherine
December 13, 2019
Thoughtful and timely for each generation. Thanks for the Celtic reflection on as day turns into night. I must try to catch it again... Tony, I wanted to share with you my recent discovery of Native Americans recommending we go into nature and LISTEN. That's their style of meditation.... Best regards and all the best for the holidays. Merry Christmas.
Jeannine
August 27, 2019
Thanks, Tony, for this insightful and beautiful reflection. Phone addiction has been a pet peeve for a while, but I find myself being drawn into checking my phone far too often. Will resolve to be more mindful about the habit. I loved Max's poem and will use it in my yoga classes. Blessings to you. 😊🙏
Loriana
July 31, 2019
The moon playing to an empty audience 😞 Thank you for reminding me to look up to the moon each night 😊
Wisdom
June 17, 2019
LOVELY, as usual, Tony❣️ Always so thankful for your Wisdom and the Gentle Spirit with which you deliver it❣️🙏🏻💕
Melody
June 17, 2019
A poignant, short talk. I too use my phone a lot. I find I like reading books on it as I can read at night if I can’t sleep and not wake my husband. I have begun, like you, to leave it aside. Be with the moment. Feel the quiet or sense the life surrounding. If my grandkids are around we all stay off the phones at meals. We play games. But at work, where once we talked at lunchtime, now everyone is isolated. An island to themselves. I don’t know how it will change. But I do know it will. I will pledge to be more mindful going forward. Thanks Tony.
Trisha
June 17, 2019
I still do look at the evening moon 🌙 when the clouds are scarce.
Lesley
June 17, 2019
Blessed that you stopped to look at the 🌖and share this poem and mindfulness moments with us all, Namaste, 🙏🏼Lesley
Debbie
June 17, 2019
Its 1:30 am and I am sitting outside watching the moon play out its nightly journey. Still, my attention is pulled to my phone. I’m looking at insight timer hoping to find something to listen to that may quiet my mind. I found this. This is a gentle reminder of a lifetime so long ago where it was this moon that I now sit under that was all I needed to be still. Thank you 🙏