What doesnt last is more important than you think

What doesnt last is more important than you thinkWhat doesnt last is more important than you thinkMany years ago, before the advent of smartphones and the Internet, people used to lug around Polaroid cameras and camcorders to record events.The earliest camcorders were bulky and had to be rested on yur shoulder to use.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreMy fatherbei wore his Polaroid camera on a strap around his neck. Whatever the special occasion, Dad would interrupt the festivities to gather everyone together for a picture.The novelty of the Polaroid welches that it spit out a photograph immediately after you took one. A few seconds later, the image would develop before your very eyes. Wed stop whatever we were doing, just to wait for the picture to come into focus.Image by John WeissIt welches common to see parents at their kids sporting events, running around like news reporters with their clunky camcorders, trying to capture all the action. Sadly, they often missed exciting moments because they were fiddling with their equipment.I remember reading an insightfularticleback then in Newsweek magazine. It was all about a woman who documented every bit of her childrens lives with a camcorder until she attended a performance at her daughters school and forgot her video camera.The woman had tears in her eyes as her daughter sang a solo in the performance. Initially, she could have kicked herself for failing to remember her video recorder, until a friend suggested that not filming was what allowed her to have the unadulterated joy of this experience. She was freed from the demand to document what was happening, and able to simply live it.In the article, the author wroteQuantum physics posits that the essential nature of a phenomenon is changed by the act of measuring it, and I know this idea has applications here. Our cameras come between us and what we document. How many moments have I missed?- ?or altered?- ?in an effort to capture them for all time?While Im sorry I cant share my daughters recent solo with relatives and we dont have a hard copy for the future, the moment wouldnt have been the same for me had I been fumbling with the electronics.Little did the author know how prescient her concerns about fumbling with the electronics were. Nowadays, were all fumbling with our smartphones, and consumed by social media.How many special moments in our lives have been diluted by intrusive technology? Why do we feel an urgent need to document everything, instead of just experiencing it in full? Whats worse, how often do we really revisit the thousands of photos and videos stored on our smartphones?The untethering ofegoHave you heard of the British land artist Andy Goldsworthy? He produces site-specific environmental art, using branches, stones, leaves, and natural objects found in nature.Whats unique about Goldsworthys artwork is its impermanenc e. Unlike a stone sculpture or framed oil painting, Goldsworthys creations are more ephemeral. There to be enjoyed briefly before they disassemble back into the earth.Goldsworthy notes that hikers and outdoor people come across his artwork, maybe even more so than the artwork in an artists studio. He has built permanent sculptures and uses photography to memorialize some of his work, but none the less, there is elegant transience to his creations.I discovered Andy Goldsworthy via the author Peter Hellers new novelThe River,which tells the story of two rugged, university buddies, Jack and Wynn, who decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada. Both men share a love of mountains, books, and fishing.In a scene in the novel, Wynn is wading in the river water, creating Thingamajigs. The scene continuesWynn was crazy about Goldsworthy, the environmental sculptor, and was in awe of the ethic of ephemeral art, from Buddhist sandpainting to the sapling moons of Jay Mead. The untetheri ng of ego the purity of creating something that wouldnt even be around to sign in a matter of hours or days. What that said about ownership and the impermanence of all things. He was less impressed with the extravagant shrouding of Christo, which he thought were grandiose and domineering.Peter Hellers character Wynn is clearly a deep thinker, who is moved by the purity of creating something that wouldnt even be around to sign in a matter of hours or days.In todays egocentric culture, where everyone is posting on social media and clamoring for attention, its fascinating to encounter an artist like Goldsworthy, or a novelist like Peter Heller, who seem to appreciate the simple joy of direct experience.In Hellers novel, Jack and Wynn arent taking selfies of their canoe adventure or looking for wi-fi to upload the days action to their social media channels. Theyre enjoying natures beauty, one anothers company, and the western paperbacks they read at the campfire. Theres no technology to get in the way of their experience.I just want to stay initIn the underrated movieThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty, actor Ben Stiller plays Walter Mitty, a photography department employee at Life magazine. He goes on a quest to find one of the magazines celebrated photographers, Sean OConnell (played by Sean Penn), to tell him where a missing cover photo is.Walter finds Sean in the Himilayas, waiting to photograph a rare snow leopard. As the two are talking, the snow leopard appears, but Sean doesnt take the photograph. Walter asks him if hes going to take the shot.Their exchangeSean OConnellSometimes I dont. If I like a moment, for me, personally, I dont like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.Walter MittyStay in it?Sean OConnellYeah. Right there. Right here.How many times have we all reached for our smartphones at special moments? How often do we invite the distraction of the camera instead of just staying in the moment?Magical moments in ourlivesTher es nothing wrong with capturing that graduation snapshot, or group photo with friends as you hike in Italy. But maybe we dont need to reach for the camera (or our smartphones) as often as we think.What doesnt last is more important than you think. The most intimate moments, often with the ones we love, can be some of the most magical moments in our lives. Or those quiet times in nature, when a deer unexpectedly walks by. Such moments are often ephemeral and short-lived but stay in our minds forever.To reach for the camera or smartphone is to interrupt the magic, and possibly blur your memory of it forever.Andy Goldsworthy sees the beauty in his transient artwork. It is meant to be experienced briefly, and then it fades away.The author Peter Heller, who is an avid outdoorsman, clearly understands the importance of ephemeral things. The main characters in his novel The River are young men who find deeper meaning in the fleeting beauty of nature rather than the endless distraction of s ocial media and self-documentation.Even the famous photographer Sean OConnell, in the movieThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty,knows when to set aside his camera and just stay in the moment.What doesnt last is more important than you think. When such moments arise, think twice before you reach for the camera or smartphone. Choosing to just stay in the moment might be sweeter, and better memorialize the experience in your memory than any intrusive, digital device.Before you goImJohn P. Weiss.I paint landscapes, draw cartoons and write about life. Thanks for readingThis article first appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people