As I greeted our elevator staff, “Happy Almost Friday!,” Gordon says, “I knew you were coming in today (before his shift ended). You always say hi. Everyone’s too busy on their phones to notice I’m here.” He said this as the doors were about to close. My coworkers know that I’m friends w/ everyone (including the hotel doormen, postal staff, FedEx, UPS, and Osha Thai staff), but I was particularly touched by his comment because everyday, we often engage more with our devices than our personal relationships.

Perhaps we should go ‘offline’ more often. Sign off, log out, power down, and go away to a place where you won’t need a router to feel connected. Life experiences are too rich to tag, attach, review, or upload. So take a minute this weekend to alert, notify, and check in with people, especially those who matter to us. Face to face, and not from behind a screen. Yes?