Not Everything Should Be Content

If we all stop and think about it, we are all “content creators.” We take pictures and write stories on social media for people to read and relate to.

Creating content is a wonderful artistic expression. It uses all aspects of story telling. It allows all of us an avenue to express ourselves, which I believe is an all around good. Before, the content creation was held in the hand of the few, but now it is in all of our hands.

There are some risks that go hand in hand with those benefits though. When people respond to our content, we feel good. What happens then is that we stop expressing ourselves and start seeking approval of others. In all honesty, the only person in the world who will be able to identify that change is ourselves. It is an internal shift that steals our happiness.

Another concern I have is the constant need to create content. I am a big believer in documenting our lives. I recently saw a picture of my daughters that I had no recollection of. If it hadn’t been for that picture, that experience would have disappeared into the ether. Again, it’s an internal shift, where we start to feel pressure to capture everything so we can post it. In our attempt to capture everything, we miss it all.

The key to success is to be in the moment and love life to to the fullest. Then, take a second and capture a reminder of the moment. We have to accept that we cannot relive this moment. We must stop trying to stop up the flow of life. It is ever moving, ever changing, and it is unstoppable. We do want to remember all the good we had in each season of life. So, stop trying to capture life and go live it, then take a few pictures along the way for stories and memories later.