Dear Reader,

Try this exercise: for a few minutes, pull your phone from the cover and shut it down.

Watch it.

Consider that you look at much of your world, and speak to many people, through that shiny skinny piece of metal and glass alone. Compare its size with yourself, your table, the room you are in (extra points if you are in the open).

Are you feeling the same sensation as I am? Are you up for a little change of pace? To me, it seems like a pretty narrow window to watch the world through. Often I feel the need to enjoy the real thing, a conversation in person, a paper book.

Don’t think I’m naive: a smartphone, if used properly, can be more important for you than a library. A good place to start in that direction can be read in this Medium article, which I highly encourage you to read. However, consider that the whole world is always bigger than any of its component.

Now, for extra points in the exercise, talk to someone and invite her/him to talk together in person. Better still, to have lunch with you. And no, no photographs of your meal are allowed.

Don’t be afraid to jump in “direct connect mode”. It is rarely a mistake. Yesterday I should have made a phone call, but relied on chat. The conversation had become so messy that we basically need to start from scratch, and I hope there will be no problematic tails. Trust is slowly built and fastly lost.

Until next time, remember that there are real people and human needs on the other side of your LCD screen.