I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I am a pretty big reality TV fan. As much as I love the dramas that continue on each week, those require a lot of focus, and sometimes at the end of the day or a busy week I just need a little oatmeal for the brain. And if I happen to fall asleep, I really don’t miss much, unlike my beloved Law and Order, which I feel like if my mind wanders just a little I’ve lost a lot of the plot.
One of my long standing favs is the Below Deck series on Bravo. I watch all the iterations; the original, Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, etc. The show, if you are not familiar, takes place on a super yacht and revolves around the crew who works on the boat, but also focuses on the guests, who more often than not bring the craziness on board with them. The combination adds to the drama, and oftentimes silliness, of the show.
Last week one of the sailing couples was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on the boat. After dinner, the crew had arranged for a fireworks display to be shown in the couple’s honor. As soon as the fireworks started on a barge in the middle of the ocean, the husband took out his phone and started filming. The wife berated him, saying something along the lines of “put down your phone and enjoy real life for a change.” I was immediately reminded of my poem Lenses from my third book “Gather Seeds of Hope.” This poem talks about all of the important moments in life that we are trying to capture and solidify in our devices, so that we can go back and watch or look at them later. But does that steal the joy away from that moment? Are we missing something happening in real time right before our eyes? When we view the moment back on a phone or a video, do we feel the same feels that we had when the experience was unfolding right before us, or do we feel a bit detached, as if watching a movie or show that someone else recorded?
I am not down on trying to capture moments on film so we can remember them later in life. After all, life is so busy and our minds are so preoccupied, and as fast as time goes we can’t remember everything. So it’s nice to go back and look at moments in our lives that may have shifted to the back of our memory banks. But I hope someone is not putting a real life moment on hold now to enjoy it later. It’s like saving cake in the freezer to savor at a later date. Does it taste as good or as fresh as if you had enjoyed it when presented to you? Or has it gotten a bit stale over time?
Lenses
She sat under a willow tree
And sketched with pad and pen.
She watched the children run and fall,
Then do it all again.
She tried to sketch their smiles
As she sat under the tree.
But some things you cannot replicate;
Some things you need to see.
She wanted to draw their laughter
As it floated through the air,
But realized there are some sounds
Your ears just need to hear.
She tried to capture on her pad
The wind blowing through the trees,
But some things cannot be drawn;
You have to feel the breeze.
How many times in life
Do we take out our phone
So we can catch a moment
And mark it as our own?
We grab for our camera
And view the world through its lens
As it marks in time the moment,
And the laughter of our friends.
We post it on our media
For all the world to see,
And like and love and comment
About how great our life must be.
But are we really seeing
These moments as they’re unfolding,
Or are they being held inside
The object that we’re holding?
Pictures are amazing
For they help us recall
All these moments in our lives;
Our brains can’t hold them all.
But a photo can never capture
The sweet smells in the air.
Or the feeling of the wind
As it rustles through our hair.
When we scroll through these pictures
Will we remember through the years
How the beauty of the sunset
Nearly brought us all to tears?
Will the photo catch the moment
As the sun faded from view?
When we witness these occasions,
It helps our spirits to renew.
It is times such as these
Where I lay my lens aside;
Breathe in all the feelings,
And let my vision be my guide.
Back to our little artist
As she sits beneath the tree
And tries to draw a butterfly
That landed on her knee.
She cannot draw the fluttering,
Although she really tries.
So she puts down her pad,
And views the world through her own eyes.
