Stop Observing, Start Being!
Over the past few weeks, I have tried to really observe people having moments. Families at the cider mill, couples at dinner, parents watching their young athletes compete, and the list goes on. One thing I noticed more than ever before was the number of people stopping and taking selfies and pictures. Please understand, this is not an article bashing selfies and photos. Seeing this over the past several weeks really got me to have a think on something. Do people ever go back and really look at all the pictures they are taking? If you are my friend on social media, you will see I take my fair share of photos too, so this is a judgement free zone, I promise. But I cannot tell you the last time I went through the pictures on my phone or pics that have been uploaded to my cloud. This troubles me greatly.
All this begs the question, are we merely observing our lives or are we truly being actively engaged in them? Recently, we were at an event with my son and several of his friends. I freely admit, I snapped a pic or two. But what I really enjoyed, what I tried to commit to memory and really be present in, was the interactions and comradery going on between my boy and his mates. That was the moment. Pictures can remind you of the day, but unless you really take it in and commit to the moment, all we will ultimately have is the photo. Seeing the smiles in the picture is one thing. But remembering what they were smiling about and who they were poking fun at (like all teenage boys do. If they aren’t making fun of you, they don’t like you) and the conversations will never be revealed by a photo alone.
I challenge you all this week dear friends, as many have had homecoming and many more will, as kids off at college get that first month itch and call or come home, and as summer turns to fall and offers some of the most amazing colors on nature’s pallet, please remember to do more than snap a pic. Memorize the moment. Be here now. Truly take it all in. Feel it. Breathe it. Then, when we relive the photo down the road, we will remember things, the little things, that made that moment photo worthy in the first place. Memorize the moment my friends. Life is moving incredibly fast once again and if we don’t force ourselves to slow down and remember why we stopped to take that picture in the first place, the picture will never be as valuable as it could be otherwise.
Moments are precious. Memorize them. Pay attention as much as you can in that moment so the pictures, we take will have more meaning than ever. Enjoy the fall colors that are beginning to arrive!
Steve Gwisdalla is a Dexter native and Owner, Chief Moment Memorizer, Vice President of Non-Centered Photographs, and Success Coach at BetterPlace Consulting. Reach out to him at steve@betterplace.com
and let him know how you capture and memorize your moments!