Part of slowing down is not just slowing down outwardly but inwardly as well. One of the goals of slowing down both inwardly and outwardly is being present to the moment. A disturbing and growing trend, as illustrated in this startling photo, is more and more people not being present to the moment but instead being present to their mobile device so they can capture the moment forever. First of all, who ever looks at all these photos and videos we take 5 or 10 years later, seriously? There may be the rare special video or photo we look at years later like a wedding but people rarely spend time 5-10 years later looking at the video they took of the New Year's Eve fire works 2008 or the peacock walking around the zoo in 2011 or whatever. It truly boggles my mind the stuff people take pictures and videos of.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not completely against photos and videos; they are a gift to help us remember life's special occasions and especially help us remember loved ones when they pass on, but people these days take photos of every little thing and literally have thousands of photos and videos on discs or in the "cloud" or wherever - way too many memories for people to realistically ever peruse again.
My point is not to be anti-video or anti-photo, my point is I believe people are not as intensely present to the moment when they are videoing it, whether it's a wedding or a graduation or family vacation. I see parents all the time videoing their children's first steps, soccer games, birthday parties, Christmas morning and so on and they're just not as present to the beauty and emotion of the moment as if they were fully engaged and not worrying about the lighting or the focus or the battery or whatever.
I have been guilty of this myself; my little boys wanting me to watch their baseball game and celebrate with them but I'm more focused on capturing the moment forever than joining in with their souls. I have precious memories of my parents and grandparents SO intensely focused on me as a child. My grandma especially had this way of gazing at me making me feel like I was the most important person in the world - at that moment I was to her. I admit my gaze is not as intense and intimate as my grandma's I am so easily distracted by my phone, the TV and all the other stimulation our busy world surrounds me with. I am working on this.
Again, I'm not saying never take a photo or a video - this modern technology is a handy gift to have - but next time you reach for it just slow down and ask yourself if this is something you are really going to look at in the future or is it just more megabytes for your collection. And, more importantly, ask yourself if the person or event you're videoing demands or deserves your full attention or that of reporter - there is a time for both.
Be still and know that God is God; be still and enjoy the moment and the people around you. Be still, be present, be whole...
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