Creating An Eternal Moment

I've been a bit delinquent in my blogging over the last week, so I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I usually compose my blog posts the weekend before you see them.  I write one post on Saturday and one on Sunday, then schedule them to go live during the week.  It decreases my stress level and allows me to follow my heart while writing.  Plus it provides my readers with a bit of reliability and routine.  My hope is that you grow to anticipate my Monday and Thursday evening posts.

So scheduling blog posts seems to be a mutually beneficial practice.  Except when my weekend gets crazy and I don't have time to write.  I'm usually able to squeeze in the time, but last weekend was my sister's wedding.  My family was in town, our schedule was packed, and your little sister only gets married once, right?   Besides experiencing the joy of my beautiful sister marrying her soulmate, I figured the weekend was also bound to provide me with some sort of blogging inspiration.  I knew my readers would understand.

The weekend was magical and I was caught up in a whirlwind of excitement.  Before I knew it, I was colliding with reality Monday morning as I woke up at 5 am and downed 2 shots of espresso.  When my coworkers arrived at work, I found myself bombarded with questions about the wedding.  They wanted pictures.  Pictures of the flowers, my sister, my daughter, the dresses, the groom, the church, the food.  And you know what?  Besides a few snapshots of the girls getting their hair and makeup done, I had none.

What kind of maid of honor spends an entire weekend with her sister on the most important day of her life and walks away without a single picture to capture the epic event???

I've realized a few things about pictures and cameras over the years and I've come to believe there are 2 kinds of people: the ones who make memories and the ones who capture them.

There's really no right or wrong way to go, but the fact still stands.  Some people find joy in living in the moment; fully throwing themselves into the present and become a part of whatever is going on in their environment.  Other people are happiest when they're capturing the moment; experiencing the present by stepping outside of their environment and observantly photographing the people and surroundings that currently comprise their life.

Both kinds of people make life richer.  Without those living in the moment, the capturers would have nothing to capture.  Without the capturers, the doers would have no memories of their experiences.  Both kinds of people are important.  Both contribute to a joyful and memorable life.

Me?  I enjoy having photographs that capture the moment, but I enjoy the moment more.  I believe life is a balance.  I've seen people so obsessed with capturing the perfect shot that they miss the moment itself and find themselves miserable over it.  I think we have to work together to combine our joys into something greater than ourselves.  The result is something beautiful: an eternal moment.

In search of an eternal moment last weekend, I surrendered to delayed gratification.  I fully immersed myself in the experience and let the paid photographers do the capturing.  I might not have had photographs to share at work on Monday morning, but I got to have fun and have documentation of the experience at the same time.  Even though I was a little bit sad not to have pictures to immediately post to social media.So what kind of person are you?

Are you a person who makes memories or one who captures them?

(remember, there is no wrong answer!!!)