Being In The Moment

I saw her on my walk.
There was no school that day so all the school aged children were home.
It was early morning and I wondered why if given the chance, she wouldn’t sleep late.
I decided that there must be some school-aged biological clock that woke her at the usual time.

She was holding something in her hand.
I waved to her.
She awkwardly waved back with the object she was holding.
I knew that posture.

She was holding her cellphone.
With her head down and her thumbs moving furiously, I knew she was texting someone.
I continued towards the stone wall where I turn around each morning.
Most mornings, my walk is my prayer time, my thinking time.

This morning, I was just taking it all in.
The weather was warmer.
A tinge of green could be seen on the trees.
A woodpecker was hammering on a high tree branch.

Then I remembered that her friend lived across the street.
I put the pieces together.
She is texting her friend, I decided in my head.
As I came back up the street, I saw her friend come out of her house with the same posture.

She had her head down as she held something in her hand.
Her thumbs were moving furiously.
How times have changed.
How technology has taken over the simplest thing.

Before cellphones, you needed to knock on someone’s door.
Before cellphones, you actually had to call someone and talk to them.
Conversation was not reduced to a text that is typed with furiously moving thumbs.
Conversation happened face to face, person to person.

As I walked up the hill, I saw the other girl walk across the street to her friend.
An invitation, and a swiftly typed response happened in minutes.
The response was probably abbreviated, perhaps even punctuated with emojis.
It did the job; the result was the same but something was missing.

I was driving home down a different road and came to a four way stop.
I waited until the other three people moved first since I was the last to arrive at the intersection.
I looked across the street and saw a small bungalow.
One person was at the open front door while the other was a few feet away.

Each person had the same posture.
Head down, an object in their hand, and their thumbs moving furiously.
Just like the girls I saw earlier, the setting was the same.
They were a few feet apart but they were oblivious to each other.

I wonder if they’re texting each other, I thought to myself.
I dismissed that thought as quickly as it entered my head.
Even if they were texting other people, they were missing the moment of togetherness now.
They were most definitely missing the moment.

I watched a mom with two adorable children as she pushed them in a shopping cart.
It was one of the lager shopping carts that have a side by side seat in the front.
They were so well behaved and were talking to the cashier as he scanned their purchases.
The mom took out her phone and took a picture of her daughter.

She had her head down and her thumbs were moving furiously.
Before it was time to insert her credit card, I heard the familiar swoosh sound.
The picture she just took was now being sent or posted.
In an instant a moment became public.

We spend so much time looking down and hardly any time looking up.
We moved our thumbs or index finger furiously across a QWERTY keyboard.
We include hundreds of people in a moment that is happening in real time.
We inspect our picture or our text for its LIKE value.

We fail to live in the moment that is before us.
We are thinking about how the moment can affect people that are not even present.
Thinking about those people causes us to disregard the people directly in front of us.
The moment is captured but the moment is missed.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

This is the day.
This is the second.
This is the minute.
This is the hour.

We cannot get it back.
If life is seen behind our cellphone camera, it is missed.
If life is seen through short texts and emojis, we are isolated.
If life is merely lived for its LIKE value, we are lonely indeed.

Thumbs up on Facebook may boost our ego but it does nothing for our relationships.
Texting or being part of a group text may make us feel popular but it is empty.
Having hundreds of pictures on our camera roll may chronicle our life but at what cost?
We chronicle our life but do we live it?

Are we enjoying a meal for the sheer pleasure of the meal or for the way it appears in a post?
Are we talking face to face and polishing our social skills with another person?
Are our conversations mostly texts, Snapchats, Instagram photos, or Twitter messages?
Have we forgotten what life is like without a device in our hands?

Like anything else, everything is to be done in moderation.
Our camera rolls become what a photo album used to be.
Our text messages are similar to a quick note passed in school.
These things have a place in our culture and in our lives.

They have a place.
They do not own us.
They do not affirm us.
They do not determine our likability or popularity.

Thumbs pointing up can never replace a real pat on the back.
Thumbs moving furiously can never replace a hand written note that takes time and thought.
Chronicling our life for others means that they are part of memories that are just ours.
Private moments of life are significant because they are our private moments.

Each scenario happened on the same day.
I had to pay attention.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Capture and treasure the moments in your own heart not for the world to see.

Moments pass by much too quickly.
Savor them.
Tuck the memory away in your heart rather than your cellphone.
Then face to face, person to person, tell someone about it.

2 responses to “Being In The Moment”

1. I could not agree more, dear friend. The thing is, if you are at all like me, you find that you can neglect honest, God given responsibilities and opportunities when you get too wrapped up in the contacts you have on the internet. I have relationships that I value that have come out of friends from first Xanga, and now facebook and WordPress — but a few months ago, I felt an impatience with demands around me because they were taking time and energy from some of my “friends” who I didn’t even KNOW beyond the computer. They were MILES away in Texas, and even though I believe we can be led into someone’s life for a time and for a purpose, I’m also aware that it is easier to love someone far away than it is to love someone near — who may need us just as much. NEAR and IN PERSON is far messier and far more “interruptive,” but it is, nevertheless, our world — where God placed us, and where He expects our best. So thanks for this good post. I believe that God continually blesses those who seek to touch their neighborhoods for JESUS, so may His Blessing be upon you today as you seek the opportunities for capturing and treasuring the moments in your own heart.

   On another note, there was an interesting report that I heard about this whole business of chronicling all our “moments” in photos, thinking we will remember them better. In this report, it was claimed that people remembered the moments of important events in their lives WAY better when they didn’t have a camera or phone to take pictures. It’s as if people put it into their electronics and think that suffices, without allowing the moment to imprint on their minds in a way that is memorable. In looking back over my pictures, I do believe that there is some truth in this, and when I forget my camera or phone (which I do on a regular basis!) I comfort myself by remembering this bit of trivia and trying to imprint the pictures on my brain and heart. (Does it work? Well, it would work better if this brain of mine were younger, perhaps. But it sure does lessen the angst over forgotten camera or other picture taking device!)

   Reply

   • MaryAnn,
     I value your wisdom and all that you just so eloquently said in your comment.

     NEAR and IN PERSON is far messier and far more “interruptive,” but it is, nevertheless, our world — where God placed us, and where He expects our best.

     How right you are!
     The sheer grace of being present in the moment.
     This is the day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.
     Gina

     Reply