Not too long ago, some friends and I went to the very outskirts of Nashville to a large farm. We shot skeet, rode around on four wheelers, and made a campfire. Pretty much a perfect day in the country. However, I have no physical record of this perfect day. There are no pictures. No social media updates. In fact, I barely saw a single phone or piece of technology the whole day. It was so nice. Just a group of people enjoying being in the moment together. For a moment, the world felt smaller, more intimate, in focus. Time practically stopped and it felt so good to forget about the stress of life waiting for us back among the city lights.
That day reminded me how important it is to know when to unplug. There may be no evidence of that day apart from the memories of the people who were there, but who cares anyway? Maybe some things are meant to be shared with the few rather than the many. Sometimes it takes a day of unplugging to remember that the most important relationships are the ones who are close to us. Those are the ones who don't need to be convinced of who we are and what we do or what weekend adventures we have. Most likely, they are the ones who are there with us. Be sure to be there with them too.
I have a good friend that I have known for over 10 years and we, surprisingly, have very few pictures together. After a while, it kind of became a joke between us that we never took pictures together. We tried to make an effort to take pictures when we got together but usually forgot. In the end, it was better that way. We realized that we really just forgot to take pictures because we were too busy having fun.
1 comment:
It sounds like a lovely day, and I'm not opposed to lovely days...
But don't you find that memories fade? I suppose, living on the edge of a social media empire, you live a more documented life, and have to push harder the other way. But as a relatively anonymous member of society, I wish I took more pictures, had more handles to attach to events that, in many cases, I'll otherwise forget. And pictures are a vivid way to bring it back.
You were glad pictures didn't break up your day, but wouldn't you be glad, too, if a year from now one of your friends were able to produce some pictures, and remind you, in a way that words can't, what the day was? Wouldn't you remember it better?
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