I'm currently attempting some "holiday" in France, but the downtime has had my brain whizzing with sights that are more or less unfamiliar, certainly not from the time when I lived here over a decade ago or from my wife's own upbringing.
One such thing is what you can observe in the photo I took in a book shop in a city centre mall. This was the third shop we'd been into where we observed the same pattern:
Children and teenagers, though never adults, would diligently and without having been told to, take their bags to the entrance and dump them in a pile before going about their shopping.
I remarked that in pretty much any other country, a) the bags would be stolen within minutes, or b) they'd be removed as a bomb threat, and almost certainly c) any young person asked on entering a store to leave their bag would cry foul, civil liberties and assumptions of innocent-until-caught-with-a-loot-of-school-supplies (this was a stationery and book shop; hardly the stuff of hardened crack heads or hungry desperadoes).
France is certainly struggling at the moment. Her economy is dying, her politicians panicking, her entrepreneurs leaving by their hundreds every week on the Eurostar.
But success might be more likely to appear some day soon if it can do one thing for the taxpayers, citizens and workers of tomorrow: trust them as equal citizens in a Republic built on liberté, égalité and fraternité.
The 'New' Benefits Of Mindfulness: Improved Memory, Focus, And GRE Scores - Forbes http://t.co/3RW8Hj8gxl #mscidel
On a train, staring into space. Fieldwork for Silence and Sanctuary - Week 11 of #mscidel
@JanetBenson77 @verge Disconnecting and disconnected; just like moving to a new country, at first exciting, then you are you again! #mscidel
@physiart Just tried Meditation and Mindfulness...Wow! Should do this everyday! #mscidel
Snapchat photos self-destruct after 10 secs - do they enable less self-conscious digital identity formation? http://t.co/bUPWz45d9h #mscidel
@JanetBenson77 Great article. We have 4 iPhones, 3 iPads, & 5 computers at home. Reading with all my iThings far away was amazing. #mscidel
Offline: how's it going? http://t.co/Nank1jCZvz via @verge #mscidel
In Defense of Distraction http://t.co/iV2PBhLShh via @sharethis #mscidel
The Tree of Contemplative Practices http://t.co/Hjx5XRbjXh #mscidel
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society http://t.co/72BVHMbpyV #mscidel
BBC News - Children should be allowed to get bored, expert says http://t.co/VwRgkNTbeb #mscidel
"The ease of digital distraction has made us appreciate solitude with a new intensity" (Nathan Jurgenson 2012). All of us? #mscidel
What happens in an internet minute: http://t.co/LR7xS53xST #mscidel
Why Multitasking Doesn't Work - Forbes http://t.co/5KI6n2812x #mscidel
@keithohare do my best thinking while doing the housework :) #mscidel
The problem in today's society is that when fast and slow time meet, fast time wins! -> H. Eriksen #mscidel
The problem in today's society is that when fast and slow time meet, fast time wins! -> H. Eriksen #mscidel
"...assumption that writing is mainly a solitary and individual act" (Land 2011) Not in the digital age? #mscidel
The Five Minute University - brilliant but frighteningly true! #mscidel http://t.co/6jCzEPXKQp
@lelil It's writing whilst on planes that works for me! #mscidel
See David Levy presenting 'no time to think' at Google http://t.co/soupyvvXPD #mscidel
RT “@Louisemac: Journeys are the " midwives of thought"... Agreed! http://t.co/koy0mLH1gc” << #mscidel
How Busy People Find Time to Think Deeply http://t.co/UArTNcBQR4 #mscidel
You're Distracted. This Professor Can Help. http://t.co/QjftQwwoL6 #mscidel