Live In The Moment. Don't Let Your Camera Rob You.

Cameras.  I have a love/hate relationship with them.  Cameras are a great invention that helps us capture precious moments and save memories, but since the advent of phone cameras, they have taken a sad turn.  Cameras have become so prevalent that people often miss "the moment."  Now, people are using their cameras (phone or otherwise) to take a picture of everything.  No matter what is going on, someone just HAS to take a "selfie."  People are so busy taking pictures that they have put a barrier between themselves and actually feeling what is going on around them.  They are no longer living in the moment and being a part of it, but recording it without any emotional attachment to it.

What is the point of recording it if it will not touch you deeply when you later reflect on it.  Better yet, if you take so many pictures, will you even look at those pictures again?  I know some people who have literally tens of thousands of pictures.  Will you even take the time to reflect on those experiences you so meticulously recorded?  Will you even remember what was happening around you when you look that picture?

I am not saying that cameras should be done away with.  I believe cameras can be a very valuable tool.  Instead, use discretion.  If you travel with me or check something new out with me, you will rarely see me take pictures.  I am picky about when I take a photo.  Instead of being trapped behind a screen, I want to feel, see, hear, touch, and be one with what is going on around me.  I want to be fully invested in the experience rather than worrying about tool.  I don't want to miss a thing.  I want to feel the energy of my surroundings pulse through me and let awe overtake me.  These experiences are then burned into my memory.  Only if I find something particularly fascinating will I take a photo.  For me to take a photo is to memorialize an experience.  It only takes one photo to bring a flood of memories and feelings back to me, allowing me to bask in the feelings and experiences once again.  I don't need to record every second and my life is fuller because of it.

Do you have a camera addiction?  I challenge you to become more selective with your pictures and let yourself live in the moment, rather than recording it.

Taking a Moment to Feel

This last week has been rough on me and my body.  Selling a house as fast as possible requires a lot of work.  Every day this week, I have woken up and hit the ground running.  The amount of stuff we accomplished this week feels unbelievable, but we did it.  The house is sparkling, bright, and open.  It went on the market yesterday.  And after a week of moving furniture, packing boxes, pulling weeds, fixing a few things around the house, painting, tutoring/working, and telling all my students and their families that I am moving, I am absolutely exhausted.

Physically, everything hurts and is sore.  I have bruises all over and my joints ache.  The funny part though is that it feels good.  It feels good that my body is well enough to accomplish all those tasks.  It feels good to know I have the resources and capacity to pull off the seemingly impossible feat.  But that feeling becomes bittersweet when I think about how much I love this house.  It is sad to think that we won't be here for much longer.  We had always intended on going back to Tucson, and I am excited for the new adventure, but we had planned to raise our future children in this house.  The picture was so clear, but the scenery now has to change.

So tonight, I am taking a moment to feel.  To feel the excitement and the loss, the joy and the sadness, the relief and the frustration, and all the other emotions that come with a major life course alteration.  Tonight, I am taking a moment to reflect on me.