Do you ever really relax or do you just think you do? I have asked myself this a million times. It seems like I have been on the go my entire life. My mom says I have been on the move, exploring since I was in the crib. My head seems to always have a thought, a plan or a goal that is getting ready to be put into action. I have decided to make some changes in my life. Now when I am spending time with my family or on a vacation, I soak up every minute of that time. I do not hide behind my camera trying to capture every moment on film. A new study in the Journal of Psychological Science suggest that putting the camera down improves your memories of the vacation later on. I am living proof and will tell you why.
Last year, my husband and I spent six weeks in Europe. Halfway through the trip I deleted about 1200 pictures from my camera. As you can probably guess, I was horrified and very angry at myself. I just wanted to sit down and cry and then I wanted to go home because I was feeling sorry for myself. A bit irrational I know, but my feelings were genuine.
Once I got over the shock of having lost my “once in a lifetime” European vacation pictures, it was actually very freeing. I did not have to worry about taking pictures of everything because half my trip pictures were gone. It forced me to be in the moment. I created moments in time and memories with my husband that will be remembered forever. I talked with people at the farmers market, flea markets, flower stands, the store keepers and townspeople on the streets.
Yes, I have some European pictures from my vacation but, in the past thirteen months I have not looked at them once. However, on several occasions we have talked about an experience we had that was not captured on film. Putting the camera away led to a more immersing and memorable experience.
My thought, plan and goal for this year is to not have a thought plan or goal. In other words, I will be in the moment and soak up my experiences as they come into my life. When I sit down to read a book, I will actually read the book and only think about my characters and nothing else.
