just for today, i'll focus on the people i'm with. . . . In this day and age, it's astonishing to see how many people feel that it's not rude to ignore the people they're with while they talk on their phones to other people who aren't even there. When we start focusing on someone who isn't with us, we send a message to the people who are with us that they aren't as important as those other people, and that what I have to talk about with this person on the phone is much more important than what I have to talk over with you. Most of us can't remember what it's like to give our undivided attention to someone else--or to have someone else give his or her undivided attention to us. Some of us never have experienced this at all, and that's quite a shame, for it's one of the most important ways to develop relationships that we have. Just for today, let's turn off the cell phone when we're with friends, and live in the moment with the people who are with us. We can catch up with the others later (as we used to do with no problems).