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The power of presence

There is something powerful about gathering in person.

A screen cannot replace the Earth of eye contac, the encouragement of a handshake or kiss., or the comfort of a hig.

A text message cannot fullyconvey the dept of empathy in shared silence, nor can an email replicate the joy of sitting across from someone and tey being heard.

There is a danger of just checking it.

Yet there are dangers too. Meetings can just be a fornality Also you can be in the sam room and still be distant and switched off.

Do you fully engage in a meaningful way.

Make the effort to show it, be physically present, and invest in relationships that matter

What re some of the ways you can be more present?
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val70 · 56-60
A very good question. I returned this afternoon to a movie that made a great impact on me when I was much younger. Well, when I was 27 actually. It made feel present yet again.

Rod Steiger delivered a towering, deeply internalized performance as Sol Nazerman in Sidney Lumet’s 1964 film The Pawnbroker. A traumatized Holocaust survivor running a Harlem pawnshop, using icy emotional numbness to shield himself from unbearable memories.
FreddieUK · 70-79, M
There is something important about being together. However, you’re also right that you can be in the room but ‘absent’… I know, I’ve done that. Sitting near someone else, making eye contact at least, even if not able to want a conversation, can help others as well as yourself. Also, if the gathering has a common purpose then there is an easy way in to a conversation when appropriate. Concerts and cinema are great places to be with others closely without the need for any detailed exchanges.
peterlee · M
@FreddieUK Concerts in particular, art galleries too. I don’t know so much about cinema, in some matinees I attend there are less than five people, and most are asleep.🤣

When I worship in Spain, it is all about gesture and empathy, eye contact, the silences, and the rhythm of the guitar music., Very meaningful, despite the language barrier.

I’m trying to improve my Spanish, by learning ten words a day. Communication in coffee bars and tapas bars is very important too. It adds to the atmosphere, and part of sharing.

 
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