As I browse the internet, I always seem to come back to my Facebook page. It is here that millions of people connect with their friends, and share details of their lives, telling others what is happening, what is exciting. We see pictures and videos of concerts, trips, dinner, parties, and even (occasionally) classes or work. We update our status with our thoughts and feelings for the day.
I’m not saying any of this is bad. But we do become accustomed to it. We become attached to it. It has become part of our life. I am just as guilty as everyone else, so these words are a reminder to me too.
With the advent of digital photography/recording, it no longer matters how many pictures one takes. I have personally been to events where I take 1-200 pictures, easy. At the end of the day, I wade through, pick out the ones I like from the ones I don’t like, and have a photo album of hundreds of pictures, within a few months. And video – go to almost any event ANYWHERE, be it a performance, show, play, comedy improv, or street singer, and you have countless people taking video. At church nativity scenes, parents crowd around as their children star as the angel or the lamb, trying to make sure that precious moment is capture to be remembered for all of time (unless the memory chip gets deleted accidently on the way home). The ability to take a nearly limitless amount of photos means that people DO take a nearly limitless amount of photo’s. “Let’s do this pose with that person!” “stand over here!” “This is such a cool angle, I wanna take five to make sure I get it right” are just a few of the cries heard from modern photographers.
And the video footage, oh the video footage. Digital video capacity means that every twelve year old with a cellular phone is recording almost every moment of their lives.
And to all of this, do you know what I have to say?
Go live. Yes, it is nice to take pictures, and to make memories. But seriously. Go. Live. Instead of trying to record every moment to be remembered for all time, try living in every moment to remember it for the rest of your life. Put away the obsequious camera, found at every show and event, and remember in your head. Because you’ll never have another moment like this.
hm. you posted this the day after we took like 200 pics. hah.
Go live, Nathan.