Returning to "Faithfulness versus Distraction"

My friend Jeremy Walter shared this photo on his LinkedIn page the other day (the only social media I’m on anymore because it helps this starving artist find work). It’s a photo of LeBron James breaking the NBA record for most points scored in a career. For some reason, I saw the older gentleman in the front row, the one simply watching instead of recording, and thought, That guy completely represents the “faithfulness versus distraction” dichotomy in my head. I love it so much.

But why do I love it? Is this guy crazy for not having his very own video of this moment? Is our obsession with capturing and documenting every single important event on our phone a positive or negative compulsion? Does it matter?

“As with many topics in psychology, there are currently more questions than answers on this. But in many cases, scientists are finding that constant photo taking actually diminishes our ability to recall our experiences, diverts our attention, and takes us out of the moment. Constantly sharing photos may even be changing how we recall events in our own lives.”

What Smartphone Photography is Doing to Our Memories by Brian Resnick

What would it look like for me, in my life, to put down the literal or metaphorical camera and be absolutely present? I wonder what my friend David would say—he spends much of his life creating beautiful photographs. Those moments are intense and incredible. There’s something powerful and majestic about capturing an image.

All of this felt somehow related the other day when I was in the car with my good old dad and I asked him if he had a spreader I could use to put down some grass seed in our lawn.

“These kids,” I complained. “They’re turning my yard into a dead pan of packed, brown earth.”

And it’s true. Leo and his neighborhood buddies are constantly playing soccer in the yard (something I love), and killing the grass (something I don’t love). I’m always torn between cheering them on and telling them to move their goal somewhere else or take a break and let my grass grow back.

My dad got a grin on his face.

“You know the old question, don’t you?” he asked, and I knew something Dad-ish was coming my way.

“No, what’s the old question?”

He looked at me kind of sideways. “Are you raising kids, or are you raising grass?”

The children I am raising (instead of my yard).

Those two things—the photo of the man without the phone and my dad’s question—seem somehow related. The guy in the photo, capturing a moment in his mind instead of on his phone. A dad allowing his children to play in the yard instead of staking it off and keeping the kids away just so it looks nice.

Faithfulness versus distraction.

How are you remaining faithful?

How are you being distracted from your life?

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We had a great conversation with Lore Wilbert over at the podcast, where she talks about the importance of asking (and receiving) honest questions, her relationship with social media, and how she's changed as a writer since her first book. 

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