Louis CK is a 46 year old, sometimes self-depracating, often foul-mouthed comedian that I inexplicably (or maybe not so inexplicably) have a thing for. Much like my thing with Idris Elba, CK is none the wiser for it, but it makes our bond no less real to me (don’t judge me.) (Photo: Louis CK)
The clip below is from a recent visit to Conan and starts off as a rant about why kids shouldn’t have cell phones. But then it turns into something much deeper. And while I don’t agree with him that “it’s all for nothing and you’re all alone,” I know the sadness he’s talking about.
It’s a feeling of being so overwhelmed that there’s nothing to do but just feel it and let it flow.
It’s those moments when you’re alone, but you don’t want to be, or those times when, like with recent events in Colorado and Kenya, you’re faced with the sometimes cruel brevity of life.
But if your go to move has become flipping through your phone rather than really feeling something, anything, then maybe it is time to step back from the phone. And if you’re a part of the generation that has grown up and not experienced riding in a car without DVD players, satellite radios, tablets, and cell phones, then getting in touch with that place isn’t something you know. I aged out of that demographic twenty years ago, but I have, and do, use my phone as a crutch sometimes – even though it is probably the the dumbest “smart” phone ever made.
So, although I don’t usually take advice from comedians, Louis CK is the exception. From now on when I get the urge to use my phone as a shield, I will leave it in my bag, or even back at my house, for as long as I can. I’ll feel those uncomfortable moments, I’ll be the person sitting by herself and not looking into her lap and I might even talk to a stranger.
