Snowflakes Are Brilliant!
Did you notice the large, beautiful snowflakes yesterday afternoon? I did. As I was walking down the street toward the subway, I looked up and saw gigantic, perfectly shaped snowflakes falling from the sky. So without thinking, I became my 7 year-old self and I stuck my tongue out to catch one on the tip of my tongue. A twenty-something woman passing me on the street watched me, and then she stopped and smiled and with a twinkle in her eye, she cautiously put her tongue out too.
Usually, as I make my way to the subway station, I have my iPhone in my hand, and I am looking at email or I’m absorbed in updating The New York Times app or my WNYC Discover app. But not today, like 16,000 others I signed up for New Tech City’s “Bored and Brilliant” experiment. (Check out http://www.wnyc.org/series/bored-and-brilliant/.) All week long participants are being given specific challenges in an effort to limit their device use and see what creativity and brilliance comes from embracing boredom. The first challenge: don't look at the phone while in transit. I had barely walked a block and I had discovered snowflakes! I had my phone in my bag and this challenge in the bag!
As I made way down the subway stairs, my euphoria dissipated slightly as I thought about the 40 minute ride before me. While it was easy enough to put my phone away, it was proving more challenging to power down my mind. My thoughts drifted to unanswered emails and materials I should be reading in advance of my meeting. I wasn’t exactly embracing the boredom part of this experiment. I was too busy thinking of a creative work around to scratch that “productivity itch” without using a device on the train. I started composing emails in my head, and instead of poring over research about the future of news (the topic of my meeting), I used the time to think critically about it. I thought about the implications of news consumption habits, new technology and new ways of engaging the audience in news collection and analysis. This very experiment in partnership with the New Tech City audience was a living, breathing example of how news is changing and what the future looks like. If only I had a device to capture all these thoughts!
Towards the end of my journey, I got a little better at doing nothing. I stopped composing in my head and I re-engaged in the moment. It was just in time too. I found myself on the 4 train listening to a conversation between two teachers. “Come with open hearts and minds, and I am willing to teach,” said one of them. How beautiful the words sounded and how glad I was open enough to hear them. On a typical day I see the snow, but yesterday I saw the snowflakes. I hope it snows again tomorrow.
Through a series of essays, Laura Walker, President and CEO of New York Public Radio, explores the role of media, stories that make you think and content that just deserves a shout out.
