Quote of the Day

As I aimlessly surfed the Web this evening, I found a quote so poignant and truthful I'm resisting putting off blogging it as is usually my habit. Too often, I find great things to write about and pledge to blog them at some later, more convenient time. Alas, more often than not, that time never arrives, life goes on, days pass and so does my ambition to record my thoughts.

I found this truism on a post called, 10 Rules of Tech Etiquette on Geoffrey Webb's blog.

"In your rush to record life, don't forget to live it."

The warning appears in Webb's ninth rule of tech etiquette: Put your camera away. As an aspiring photographer and iPhone owner, this rule attracted my attention. As Webb indicates, living in this age of constant publishing, sharing and exchanging of digital information can take our focus off of what's important. Technology has presented humankind with a paradox. The advent of social media is being marketed aggressively. 'Friend' has become a verb as well as a noun. An entire generation is pushing the limits of interaction, and at times, boundaries. In our rush to record life's great moments in 140-character tweets, witty status updates and candid pics of our friends, are we so focused on recording and sharing every aspect of our lives that those real, personal interactions lose the very depth and richness we strive to capture?

I love technology. Recently, I've taken an avid interest in both photography and social media, so much so that I have to remind myself to unplug sometimes to read a book. Actually call someone. See a movie. Have dinner with family.

Sometimes, whether you're at work or with friends, you have to turn off the gadgets just to enjoy the 'fullness' of whatever is happening in that moment, simply because even the fastest shutter speed or highest HD camera can't capture it as well as the oldest recording device at our disposal: memory. Webb's words are ones to live by, and reminded me of the feeling of giving up trying to capture Canada Day's amazing fireworks with my Canon Rebel to revel in the awesomeness of being there.