Wait, What Was That?

"Glancing Up" - Comic (July 16th, 2025) by Marian Schurman

I am so glued to my phone. I find this ironic of course, typing this on my laptop as you probably read it on your mobile. You're most likely going somewhere and are on route, but if you're reading this, I'd like you to take a minute and look up at where you are. Observe the people around you.

If there are plants, what are they doing in order to survive? What machines and technology have been modified and invented to make this route as streamlined as possible? Are you on the bus? Is there somebody else around that isn't looking at their phone? What are we thinking about when we're not thinking about where we're going?

The buildings around you have so many people inside them, living their lives. What do they look like? Someone probably passed by that same tree you were looking at as it pushed itself out of the concrete and didn't spare it a second glance - chalking it up to poor city management.

And there are so many sounds! Birds, maybe some dogs. People are talking, others listening to their music too loud. Someone is sick and coughing and we feel that pang of past anxiety that is never going to go away.

Glance up. Take your headphones out. Observe that which your phone doesn't want you to see and be in the moment with the people around you, but also with yourself. Who are you in this moment, in this space, and does it really matter where you are going?