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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning.

How many times do your look at your phone in a day? We can’t help it, scanning our phones for the latest social media notification, yet another a video a friend has sent, a – well, anything new, urgent. Something that says now, now, now, look at me now!

Now we’ve got these fitbits which are, I suppose, like baby watches that link to our phones and we can stare at them and check our vitals, how many steps we’ve taken and other data that gives a sense, well, of achieving something.

It doesn’t stop there. How often do you find yourself scrolling down a screen only to find a link to something else? How many tabs do you have open? Do you really have to read the same but different news item a dozen times a day? This data is a like fast food, it scratches an itch, but it’s a quick hit. A jolt of Dopamine, an expresso shot straight to the head. It’s deeply ironic that the very devices that were supposed to free us have enslaved us. A crying toddler? No problem – here’s a phone! But try prising it from their hands when you want it back.

Of course, the answer isn’t to dump these devices in the recycle bin, the answer is to become more aware of what we’re doing. Becoming conscious again is central to overcoming this attachment to data that sponges up the most valuable thing at our disposal: time.

Let us pray. Dear Lord and Master of time and its mysteries, grant us the insight to see how our actions enable us and dis-able us and to give us the strength to overcome our frailties and lead us on a path which will bring purpose and benefit to ourselves and everyone we touch.

Amen.