It may seem counterintuitive, but I've found that the more I travel, the less pictures I tend to take. Maybe it's because I've seen an excessive amount of open air fruit markets in 3rd world countries, beautiful white sand beaches, chickens in the seat next to me on a local bus, or farm animals roaming empty dirt roads. Instead of trying to "capture" the Kodak moment, I guess I'd rather store it in my own personal hard drive and fully experience the moment.
I understand people wanting to take pictures to remember moments they've experienced while traveling (or on vacation). But, wouldn't it be better to just live the moment instead of preserving it for later? I think a lot can be lost if people are too snap-happy and try to capture something intangible instead of feeling and living that moment that you can't ever get back once it passes.
I guess the bigger idea behind this topic is living in the moment. Put down your camera (cell phone, go pro, etc) and experience this moment right now. What do you see? What do you smell? How do you feel? Traveling in 3rd world countries always puts this into perspective for me. It's probably because most other people can't afford the same luxuries we have. In our society, people are more and more on the move, accomplishing things, checking off our to do lists, being productive. But what are we losing? Life is going to pass us by in a blink if we don't look up every once in a while and take the time to appreciate what we have.
There was a power outage while I was in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I had been visiting temples all day in the sweltering heat and all I wanted to do was go back to my hostel, lay in my air conditioned dorm room, take a cold shower, and use the Internet to book my ticket to Thailand that I had been procrastinating buying. I couldn't do any of those things! Plan B: I walked the streets and was struck by a couple things. First of all, there were a lot more people on the streets, sitting near the river on the benches. Some people were talking, others were just sitting there and staring as if they didn't know what to do with themselves. Second, when I walked down the famous Pub Street, I really took notice that people (tourists) were interacting, talking, laughing, sharing moments. I guess I had been accustomed to walking past the restaurants that say "free wifi" and everyone is one their phones not even looking at the person next to them. It was refreshing to see all the human interaction but also strange at the same time because it was such a contrarian event.
I'm not saying we have to experience life changing events all day long. Just look around you. You can connect with other human beings (or even with yourself) by looking up and pausing for a moment in your day to day life. Smile at someone as you're walking down the street (instead of looking at your smart phone and liking a picture on Instagram), give your full attention when a co worker is telling you a story (without thinking about what you're going to eat for lunch), just be a little more thoughtful about what's going on around you and you'll be surprised about the "little things" you may have missed before.
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