Do you have snapshots of your childhood?  If you’re part of the Baby Boomers or early Gen Xers, many of those snapshots are physical images, printed moments in time.  Our snapshots are now on our phone, digital memories of the best of times; things we want to hold on to and relive.  We want to be able to see it again and have those warm fuzzy reminders at our fingertips.

How many times have you actually gone back to revisit a photo?  I have thousands of pictures on my phone.  It is a rarity that I go back to scroll through the endless stream of captured images.

Why do we snap that photo?  Is it to imprint it in our memory?  We don’t want to forget the emotion tied to the experience so we capture it.  As I get older, I have found that rather than focusing on grasping at the memory of the moment, I need to be intentional to live in the experience.  Sometimes, I have to force myself not to pick up the phone for a quick picture, but immerse myself in the here and now – feel the emotions, see the expressions, soak in the joy, the beauty, the intensity.  Diving into the moment creates an indelible memory that I most likely will return to more than I would have revisited the image on my phone.

Be intentional and LIVE the experience.  You’ll be richer for it.