My phone — which I hardly use for calling —
is really a collection of apps.

Apps that manage my life:
work, navigation, communication,
banking,
even personal identification.

A small device
holding together
a complicated life —
a digital life.

One I did not really choose,
but was swept into
simply by being born
into this age.

Do I have the courage
to seek out what is real?
Real encounters
can be messy, draining,
even disappointing.

Do I have the courage
to accept that I cannot
simply shut them off
or uninstall them?

“And when the ten heard it,
they were indignant
at the two brothers.”

James and John —
whose mother, Salome,
had asked You,
“Say that these two sons of mine
are to sit one at your right hand
and one at your left
in your kingdom.”

I envy that face-to-face moment —
the lively discussion,
even the tension.

It was a gathering
in the flesh.

Nothing digital.
Just authentic human encounter.