In The Moment

Nicole and I went to the Art Institute this morning to catch the Van Gogh Bedrooms exhibit as it wraps up on May 10th. It was very cool albeit not as conducive for contemplation as I would have liked. It was packed, no surprise there, what was surprising was how many people were glued to their phones.

In a shoulder-to-shoulder mass of a hundred people a good eighty were jostling not to stand and soak in the venerable art work but to snap pics with their phones. Not even selfies, which although equally irritating, might have been understandable. People were just trying to get pictures of the artwork itself devoid of context. Images of famous art work are readily available on the internet, prints easy to purchase in the gift shop. The motivation behind all this wanton documenting is beyond me. And this was not only young people, in fact, the majority of these camera frenzied shutterflys were people over the age of 50.

In this our capricious digital age this compulsion has developed to constantly document and post on social media. To obtain proof that you saw this person, saw this object, were at this place. But at what cost? I've fallen prey to it myself. Taking numerous pictures(not with my phone but with a camera at least) of shows or vacations at the detriment of actually experiencing and enjoying them.

Taking pictures and having images to reference of an interesting experience is fun. But actually being in the moment, soaking in the experience as it happens, being present in your own life with minimal distractions or barriers is infinity more enriching.

It can be a hard balance to strike, snapping a couple pictures to remember the experience but not over doing it. But less is more. Take a couple pictures then put down your phone. You can't sleepwalk through life. We're not robots, at least not yet.