The city of Florence is home to some of the most magnificent art pieces in the world including the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and David by Michelangelo. One piece that I didn’t expect to catch my attention (as someone relatively uneducated in art) was in the Piazza Della Signoria square close to our Florence hotel. It was a modern piece called Time Unfolding.

I loved the subtle genius of the piece of art along with how I assume it was intended to be positioned. Behind Time Unfolding stands historical pieces of art and replicas of some of the most famous sculptors. The Fountain of Neptune, Perseus with the Head of Medusa, the replica of David just to name a few.

The Time Unfolding statue is positioned to have the statue of the girl with her back to the historical greatness while looking down at her phone. The name of this piece of art makes you stop and think, what are we doing as precious time unfolds around us?

This piece of art, from my viewpoint, is intended to show we are so engrained at staring at our phones that we’re missing so much right around us. This art demonstrates this girl’s inability to pull away from her device addiction to see works of priceless art.

Now while we may not be surrounded by priceless works of art, the question remains, how are we spending our hours as time unfolds around us? If we have a few minutes to spare, are we mindlessly scrolling through social media? If we are at a dinner table surrounded by our loved ones, are our eyes open to only our screen? If we are out enjoying the day, are we walking by staring at our phones because we have FOMO?

I have been guilty. So, what if I choose to let my time unfold a little differently? Instead of taking a break to scroll, let my mind wander and have some recharge time. Or if I’m at dinner, ask more questions about what happened during everyone’s day. As I’m out walking and enjoying a beautiful day, I can choose to soak in nature or stop and catch up with a neighbor.

It’s no secret phone addiction is common. I would suggest us to not think in harsh terms as getting rid of an addiction. I would simply invite us to pause and reflect on how we are choosing to spend the time that’s unfolding right around us. What moments are we embracing to the fullest to soak in the wonderful opportunities all around us? What moments can we create even greater experiences from?

Time Unfolding to me became a simple reminder to keep my head up and embrace the variety of experiences we’re fortunate to have.

Take your step: there’s a variety of suggestions on how to combat phone addiction. I would suggest not forbidding the phone but instead exploring what experiences you can gain with the phone put away. More conversations, connections, letting the mind recharge. Take your step by choosing more experiences to embrace while keeping your eyes away from the phone.