Looking Up
Exhausted on my post-run cooldown, walking down the sidewalk, I started to pull out my phone. I habitually checked the lock screen, but immediately put it back in my pocket. Then I looked up. There was a turkey vulture gliding through the blue sky above me. Wings spread wide, it crested through the air with only micro adjustments to swing between drafts. I stopped and put my hands on my hips, panting, and stared up at it. It felt like 20 minutes, but I probably only watched the bird for a mere 45 seconds. Smiling with one last glance, I continued to the house. It was an innocent reminder: the world outside our devices is majestic. Our phones are merely tools (in fact my phone used to be named, “This is a Tool”). The real world happens all around us. Sometimes all we have to do is look up.