Adam Levine and his band Maroon 5 sure know how to rock out with a crowd. I went to see them in concert Saturday night and was pleasantly surprised by the energy, talent, and fun that can be had at one of their shows. It also gave me a big taste of how completely disconnected this world is becoming. It left me with a feeling of sadness along with a side of hope (more on that later). As the warm-up band began to play, the two ladies sitting to my left immediately pulled out their phones. Wait, let me re-word that because they didn't have to pull them out, they were glued to their hands. Now these were no teenagers, these were middle-aged ladies such as myself. This makes it even worse. Anyhow, over the next two or so hours, these two ladies proceeded to take a selfie, post it on Facebook, keep checking Facebook to see who commented, video every song (will they ever watch these videos?), and finally, deep breathe in, start to play Candy Crush when they got bored. Excuse me ma'am, but why did you come to the concert?
I started the evening getting very inflamed that this was going on. Why didn't I say something? Well, they were so many cocktails in, that I figured that it would be more work than I could imagine. In the midst of all of this, I decided that I had a decision to make. I could continue to let them ruin my night, or I could switch things around. I chose the latter. During the break between bands, I turned to the young couple behind me and we started to talk. Yes, have a conversation. This in turn, started to include a few more folks who saw what we were doing. We talked about how there is no connections in the world. These two young folks were high school teachers. What they told me about kids and phones proceeded to break my heart. Again, a choice. I have a son. I can start by making a difference with both him and myself.
As the show continued on, it became very apparent that there was a lot of phone usage. At one point in the show, Adam Levine (bless his soul) actually said to the crowd that it was time to try something different during the next show. He asked everyone to please put their phones away. There were one or two folks who just couldn't part with it, but overall, the arena got really still, quiet and the only sound you heard was Adam and his guitarist belting out their song. The energy shifted to one of folks being present, engaged and creative. It was unbelievable. Alas, after the song was over, Adam told folks they could go back to their old ways. He did pause long enough to say, "Wasn't that really nice?". I hope that a few folks really saw the connections and might make a difference in their lives. Well, I'm sure you were wondering about Thing One and Two next to me. Their phones came right back out!! I wish them well on their journeys.
The concert was the highlight of my birthday weekend. I knew every song, loved the music and had a great time. The last song of the night that was played was Purple Rain by Prince. It gave me chills and made me realize that our time here on Earth is short. We can spend it on our phones, creating drama in our lives, or we can hook into a collective of connection, love, friends and family. The world right now is one of chaos, commotion and lack of connectiveness. My hope is that something shifts soon. I can do my part, help my son to do his and send love and best wishes to everyone else.
“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.” ― John Lennon
Until My Next Adventure,
Trish Walker
Are you ready to say yes to your soul by shifting your perspective to create something extraordinary? I invite you to contact me via email at pwalker2650@gmail.com to discuss how I can help you to make your next chapter better than your last.
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