Recently, while talking a walk with my daughters, they stopped to rest and sat on a wall. I stopped and snapped a picture.
Last week, a coming storm created a beautiful sky, as if it had been painted in oils. I stopped–not literally, as I was going 65 miles on the freeway. I don’t recommend this–and snapped a picture.
The next morning as I was getting gas, a rainbow appeared over the pump island. I stopped and snapped a picture.
Yesterday, our Yorkshire Terrier started prancing around. I stopped and snapped a picture.
I didn’t have to snap pictures during these moments. I could have appreciated them as they were. But preserving the moment with a photo can be a helpful way to remind ourselves to slow down (even stop) and appreciate what’s in front of us.
(Caveat: If you’ve ever been at a child’s recital, play, or sporting event and had to jockey for position with hundreds of parents with cell phones and video cameras, you know the importance of not letting the preservation of The Moment become The Moment).
Zen is thousands of years old, but in this world of unprecedented technological advancement, why not use our devices to help us pursue and practice it?
Just remember to keep those batteries charged—literally and figuratively. TZT