I was recently in London for a very quick visit, and I’m sitting on the train on the way there with my notebook because I know I can’t do so much with my phone anymore. I’ve realised, actually, that I had started to get bored on my phone.

It’s a foggy morning, and I’m enjoying seeing the trees, the houses, the buildings differently: through a lens that makes the shapes and colours muted. I’m imagining painting them with brightness and light, just as the sun would.

This week has been very much about patience. We live in such a fast world where every bit of news is at our fingertips. We forget to live in the moment. Our heads are hunched over our phones wherever we go. 

One of the things I’ve been learning from being off social media is that although we might feel connected online, we are often disconnected from the world around us, when on a bus, queueing in line, or picking up some groceries for example. And that is because we’re on our phones; we are distracted from what is happening around us.

I’m sure many of you might feel the same, but perhaps don’t realise it yet.

Now, when I’m at the supermarket or anywhere with a queue, I don’t reach for my phone. I just look around me and keep my head high ( I am trying to get rid of my double chin!). I’m fascinated by how people live. Looking at someone’s shopping trolley or what’s on the conveyor belt is interesting too.

And I’m taking more enjoyment in those things that make us feel alive, cooking for family and friends, tending to my plants in the garden or in the house, cleaning the home, and taking care of the items I have loved collecting.

All I know is that I’m regaining my sense of patience. I don’t get frustrated if I have to wait an extra minute or two, and that has helped me not to be in such a rush.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I was in London, I decided not to take the escalators. I’ve been doing that for a couple of years now. I only take the stairs or walk up the escalator. I found myself in Marble Arch station, with two escalators on either side of a really long row of steps. Well, I decided to take the steps, and halfway through I started having a bit of a panic attack because I could see people going up much quicker than me, and I was trying to keep their pace.

It was only when I remembered that I can take things step by step, and not look up constantly at the goal, that I managed to calm down. I got up the stairs safely. It was a really strange experience because it felt like I was walking in slow motion, but really I was simply walking at my own pace.

And perhaps that is what one should always remember: to be patient with your own pace.

“Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.” — Saint Francis de Sales