“Making Memories” VS “Being Remembered”
i was at a concert the other day.
which i love.
there’s something about live music. being in the room.
there’s nothing like it.
doesn’t have to be a band i know or even like. if i hear live music, i’ll stop. soak it in.
get lost in the moment.
and if it’s one of my favorite bands…getting lost in the music is quite easy.
except this concert.
if you know me, you know i love to support and cheer people on. but i also have a huge cynical side. well critical, but it comes across as cynical sometimes. so take today’s criticism as just what it is, and not me being cynical.
pet peeve:
i hate it when people pay a lot of money to go to a concert just to film the whole thing on their phone and post on their IG story.
it absolutely blows my mind. the band is RIGHT THERE, and you have two amazing eyeballs. put your phone down, and enjoy the moment.
(besides, i don’t care how good the iPhone gets, it’s never going to capture what it feels like to be amongst 15,000 other humans all singing along)
now…before you yell at me and tell me you see me posting whenever i’m at a concert, notice my words.
i’m not saying it’s wrong to record the show or post a few videos of the show on your IG. cuz it’s not wrong.
you paid to be there, you’d like to save some memories. snap a few shots. curate a few posts.
it’s great. it’s dandy.
my greater annoyance in this particular case was it happened to be a worship event, and two of the first few songs were clapping songs.
and the crowd surrounding the stage was so busy trying to capture the moment, they neglected to clap and be part OF the moment.
(in my critical opinion) it completely severed the connection between the artist and the crowd.
and me way up in my cheap seats…
watching 1000 people down front NOT lost in the moment, completely took me out of any chance i had of being connected.
sounds like i had a horrible time.
i didn’t. i loved the show.
one of my favorite bands.
my favorite songs.
i bought a shirt.
wearing it right now. lol
but all night i tried to gather the right words to address this issue.
it’s not about millennials.
it’s not about our phones.
it’s much deeper than that.
whether you record or not.
post or not.
there is a very thin and subtle line between those who can do this and those that “must” do this.
and i think it has everything to do with your view of your self-worth.
notice, i didn’t say it has to do with your actual self-worth.
you ARE worth more than you can imagine.
Jesus gave His life for YOU.
i’m talking about your VIEW of self.
why do you have an instagram?
i know why i have one:
so i can celebrate what God is doing in my life.
do i get caught up in how many likes a post gets?
or how many views or shares my blogs get?
or who comments and who doesn’t?
you bet i do.
and i hate every second of myself when i have those thoughts.
i literally think LESS of myself when i dwell on how much or little others think of me.
how terrible is that right?
why do we post on IG story when we are out?
at a concert or otherwise?
well, isn’t it obvious.
we want to show everyone else how amazing of a time WE are having.
we want to show how “cool by association” we are by being somewhere other people aren’t.
we want others to envy our lives.
come on, it’s true.
we promise each other we want to live very inclusive lives but facts show we are celebrators of exclusivity.
i’m the first one to get caught up in “hey, look where i get to be”, so don’t think i’m attacking just you. i’m trying to awaken myself by writing this.
i was born in the disposable camera age.
i have a lot of childhood prints and a lot waiting to be developed still.
but i don’t have a lot of digital photos of youth.
so sitting down with the photo album to recount memories with the family is time consuming and doesn’t happen very often.
every time i’m with my mom, she says,
“okay, let’s take a picture…and then i’ll post it on facebook to show my friends.”
(haha…my mom the millennial.)
social media has become the new photo album.
it’s instant and far reaching and great.
photos and videos are doors to unlock rooms of unforgettable memories.
you should document your journey often,
and use those captures to remember all God has in your life.
celebrate constantly.
thus, i need to arrive at my point for today.
i think there is a severe but thin difference between
“making memorable moments” and “living to be remembered”
i don’t think that’s the right way to put that and i’m still thinking through this thesis.
i want to live to make memories. and i want to be remembered. but i am not living to be remembered. being remembered should be the byproduct of me making memories with those i love.
it’s a very thin line, separated by perspective.
are you making every day decisions and every day posts, based on how others will view you?
or
are you making decisions based on how you view yourself?
we all want to be remembered, but what will we be remembered for?
for all the cool parties we got invited to?
all the backstage meet and greets?
all the exclusive places we posted?
or are we making memories that last longer than our own lives?
are we living to leave a legacy?
legacy’s don’t die with the ones that started them because they were created for those who are left behind.
my instagram likes won’t go up when i die. they’ll fizzle out into nothingness.
but what i leave behind in legacy will grow and grow and far outreach anything i could have accomplished while i was alive.
i live to make memories.
and i’ll die and be remembered.
but not because of fame or success. but because i took the time to pour into those around me, celebrate what God has done, and be the biggest champion for what He’ll continue to do…
and that may take you into some amazingly instagramable places.
so go ahead and take the picture. capture the video.
hit post…i dare you.
-gb
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