I am not going to publish the blog I had planned to this week after an interesting experience I had last night. I went to a concert with my 16-year-old daughter. We went to see the American band, R5. I had heard some of their songs but didn’t know the words and had really only gone to be my daughter’s ‘wingman’. I felt quite out of my depth but really enjoyed it. The band put on a great performance but I kept being distracted, even from their massive light show!
I could not believe how many people were using their phones to record the show. Well actually they weren’t just recording it. There were people checking their emails, texting, photographing, as well as videoing. There was one girl who recorded the whole show holding a selfie stick and spent the entire evening standing still so as not to spoil her recording. Every other song, the mum in front of me held up her phone and recorded a 40 second section each time. The woman next to me took lots of photos and then spent the rest of the time flicking through the photos to see what she had taken.
Looking round I suddenly realised how few people were actually being in the moment and enjoying the concert for what it was. Towards the end I mentioned it to my daughter as the place was littered with phones, all on record. She said. “I thought that ages ago Mum.” It made me think of all the times I may not have been present and what has passed me by. I shall try to be more conscious of this in future.
I thought how we are frequently not present nowadays. Instead of trying to capture something to watch when we get home we should enjoy the atmosphere and soak up being in the moment. Otherwise you may as well stay at home and buy a DVD. If we are honest with ourselves how often will we watch what we have filmed and how long will it be before we delete it to create more room for the next thing we record and miss the moment for?
My daughter loved the evening and gave me a massive hug. I had enjoyed the show, enjoyed even more how much she had enjoyed it and was proud that she had not spent the evening watching it through a piece of technology. On walking back to catch the train she asked me what my favourite song was. I could tell her straight away, it was ‘Smile’ which formed part of the encore. The whole place had erupted. People were waving their hands, singing along and dancing. Call me ‘old fashioned’ but that’s how a concert should be.
By all means record moments for posterity but nowadays we seem to need to record every moment of our lives rather than enjoy the experience for what it is. Our memories work far better if we enjoy the experience at the time. We are associated with it rather than distancing ourselves as we record it and remain observers of our own lives.
Be present and don’t let experiences pass you by.
“Wherever you are, be all there” (Jim Elliot)