I love pictures and I’m obviously not alone because Instagram is a raging success. What I notice is that no matter what kind of picture is posted, whether it is of a mundane moment or something fabulous, every square shot contains some sort of magical element. It is like time is frozen, and we get to soak it in more richly. So even my friends who keep it super real and less picture perfect look perfect to me in their 2x2 image as I scroll. Snapshots have become our obsession, and I think it is because they offer a glimpse into a moment, a chance to examine it more closely, to take in the details like the lighting, the background, even the missing tooth in the baby's drooly smile...what they offer us is a true pause, a moment to savor.
The beauty is that the pause or moment of really noticing all of the details is available to us in our actual moving breathing busy lives, not ONLY in pictures. Think of the feeling you get when you get fully present in a moment...When we connect to the moment with all of our senses, we really exhale and inhale fully. We notice the song that is playing and have a heightened awareness of the smell in the room. We listen more intently and respond accordingly. We feel the shake of our hands. Maybe we linger in a hug or sit shoulder to shoulder. Bringing our awareness to all of the little things happening in any one given moment anchors us to the present moment. That snapshot feeling arises...
...and all of a sudden we are reminded of that magic that we feel in the love among the people around us, and we almost forget to take the actual picture at all....But then, well, Instagram, so we do snap a few for the photo books that we never order but plan to purchase one day after we stop tethering ourselves to the moments...although the presents of presence actually feels like quite enough.
So Be Well (and present)...
xo,
Melynda
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