The Bracelets
Since June 2017, I have been wearing the same light blue bracelet on my left wrist. It’s slightly discolored and much thinner than it was nearly 6 years ago when I got it. It serves as a reminder to live in real time and stay grounded gets stronger everyday.
I was given this bracelet during training for my first job after graduating from Kenyon College - leading middle schoolers on hiking trips for a camp based in Massachusetts. There was one training session where all 200 leaders were together and it was during this session when I first heard the story of Merritt Levitan.
For those of you who have been following Eyes Up since before the ride started, you are familiar with Merritt’s story. If you are newer to Eyes Up, I encourage you to read the article I wrote after speaking with Merritt’s mom, Anna, last spring. You can read it here.
These blue bracelets have been distributed to every Overland leader since Merritt was killed in 2013. Their wording is simple: “TextLess Live More” on one side and “Merritt’s Way” on the other. These words are reminders for all of us to look up from our phones both while we are in our cars and in our everyday lives. Doing so will not only help keep all of us safer. We will also be happier, healthier, and honor the way Merritt lived her life.
“It wasn’t until I started my project with Maxxis that I became intentional about making sure every person I spoke to got a bracelet and we took a selfie together. “
I carried a handful of these bracelets with me on my bike trip and gave them to some of the hosts I stayed with who were kind enough to open their homes to me, whether strangers or close family. It wasn’t until I started my project with Maxxis that I became intentional about making sure every person I spoke to got a bracelet and we took a selfie together.
Whether any of these people have worn or kept the bracelets at all beyond our conversation isn’t the point. These people who I have met since starting Eyes Up shared time with me and with the story of why I am committed to the fight against distracted driving and therefore acknowledge the significance of this issue and support the fight.
In recent years and especially since starting Eyes Up, my perspective on the impact I can make and have made has shifted significantly. While I used to think that my actions and identity did not leave a memorable impact on many people, I’ve learned that I can make an impact and I actually have made an impact on people. And I owe a lot of gratitude to TextLess Live More and the Levitan family for accepting this “Eyes Up” project as a contributor to their mission.
It recently came up at dinner the other night that no matter our backgrounds or roles in society, there are people who put us on a pedestal and look up to us in some way. We are influencing people even in our seemingly benign moments and our everyday lives. This is both a privilege and a responsibility. I have found I am at my best and therefore making a more positive impact when I pay less attention to my phone. How about you?
When we live Eyes Up and put the phone down to be present with what’s right in front of us, we’re automatically more at peace and likely happier just because of the simple fact that we are engaging less with the noise that doesn’t matter. This improved state naturally flows into our actions and improve our impact on others. Focus on what’s right in front of you and see what happens.
Thank you for reading - if you would like one of these bracelets, please send me an email and I will put one in the mail for you, free of charge. If you’d like to make a donation to benefit TextLess Live More, visit EyesUpRide.com/support.
Email me at ben@eyesupride.com
Cheers and until next time,
-Ben Grannis
#EyesUp
