I've always been known by many as a "Slow Adopter". I was the last one to get a cell phone (If anyone really needed to get a hold of me, they'd find a way), the last one to get on Facebook (Does anyone really have 350 friends?), and the last one to get one of those Garmin running watches (Why do I need to be constantly reminded of how fast (or slow) I am running?). I kept my first and only iPod in the box for over 3 years because I liked CDs too much to see myself abandon them. Recently, I've started to realize exactly why I am such a "Slow Adopter" and believing it isn't so bad. For me, these "things" that try to make life easier, many times just distract us from experiencing what life. We become blinded by overstimulation.
Have you ever traveled somewhere and all you see around you are people hiding behind their cameras shooting photos? I find myself wondering if they are even seeing and enjoying what is around them? Or, are they too worried about capturing their "memories", that they forget to look up? Are they are just capturing memories they haven't actually experienced? These are the people that can never remember where they went and what they did although they have 1070 photos to look at.
Or, have you ever been on a subway and realized that nobody is actually looking at their surroundings because they are all on their iPhones updating, texting, reading? Most major city subways stations are art (such as the Moscow Subway system) and most people do not even bother to look up.
Most of all I notice it when I am runnning and everyone around me is running with some sort of earbug dangling from their ears. The worst are the people who actually talk on their cell phone while running. Really?!? It makes me wonder if they even enjoying the journey of running or are they just trying to distract themself from it?
For me, running and travel are best enjoyed in their raw form: Where uncomfort yields a new type of high and silence creates a whole new level of explanations. I'm not creating this blog to just share advice and stories. I'm starting this blog to share my experiences and how they have affected my outlook on life. I hope some will be funny and I hope some will inspire you to just take a step back and just look around.
- Will Run for Travel
Great post!! I often worry that I am too focused on taking pictures when I am out doing something, instead of enjoying what I'm doing. I take pictures all the time, as my Flickr account suggests. One day when I can afford it, I'd love to decorate my dwelling with large prints of my own photos.
ReplyDeleteEven though I've been on the Metra a million times, sometimes I am perfectly content to just stare out the window. Especially now that I live on a different Metra line. And when I fly, I can spend a lot of time looking out the window.