Living in The
Moment
As I write this it's Easter weekend in London. Bank Holiday long weekend, the sun is shining and I didn't film what I got up to. Why? Because I wanted to be in the moment with friends, with loved ones and with my own thoughts. I love my job and I love the process of vlogging. The memories I've captured, the therapeutic moments I've allowed myself to escape to and the fun I've had creating them means I adore bringing my camera to many places I go - but not this weekend.
When part of your career is to share and to capture parts of your life, there's a certain guilt you feel in not sharing something exciting with the wider world, but sometimes taking a step back from sharing can be quite calming. It's the same for those who just use social media for enjoyment too, not just 'influencers'. Leaving the world of documenting your day behind for even a short time, allows yourself time to recharge and to appreciate things with eyes wide open.
Here's why I think it's so important to live in the moment and why I'm personally enjoying adding it to the work/life balance challenge for 2019.
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I often find stepping away from social media and sharing my life for a moment or two, allows me a moment to feel more appreciative. I'm grateful for so much in my life, but sometimes, like all of us, we can lose sight of the most important things to us. Past, present and future have so much to teach us, but living in the moment always offers me a sense of perspective I can't find elsewhere. The gratitude and appreciation to want to work harder to want to love harder and to want to live harder than ever. The work/life balance is a real struggle for me but living in the moment offers me a sense of stability that lots of other aspects of my life don't always bring.
When you think about the events in our life we deem the most important like weddings, birthdays and even births - those are the times we hire and ask other people to document them. Those are the events we deem important enough to want to give our whole selves to. I'm certainly not saying we should hire a photographer/videographer to follow us around to capture everyday memories for us, but I feel we should choose to give more importance to more events in our life. Big or small.
The moments in which I feel overwhelmed are the moments when I realise I need to step back from my phone and camera. From documenting and sharing and just embrace living in the moment. Whether that means cuddling up with Alex watching Game of Thrones, joining a workout class to quieten my busy mind or enjoying my Easter weekend without my camera in my hand. Those are the real memories I'll cherish. It's not a choice to not share what I'm doing, it's more a choice to live in the now. I often find my priority list never features myself near enough to the top and I've been working hard to push my own health and wellbeing up that rather full list more often.
I am not the most spontaneous of individuals, it's not a trait I really have in me. I'm a planner when it comes to my work and personal life and often have my diary full to the brim, months in advance. But although random plans may not be part of my day to day life, enjoying the plans I do make away from my camera, is definitely more a part of my life than it has been in a long time. I guess you could say it's almost reverse FOMO - the fear of missing out on something you are already experiencing is definitely a niche fear to have, but social media can do that to you!
I'd love to know if you take time to live in the moment and ground yourself often, or is it something that you don't prioritise enough? Perhaps living in the moment goes hand in hand with a little self love - that's certainly what 2019 is teaching me so far.
Images taken during a press trip with the amazing Self Portrait team staying in Langkawi, Malaysia.
