The Zen of Travel

Modern technological devices can have many advantages on the road: instant communication, sharing of experiences, destination resources (eg maps, site info, discount coupons), etc. However, too much of anything can be a bad thing.

The advent of mobile devices with built-in cameras has led to a surge of selfies and a constant feed for hungry Instagram accounts.

Selfie = taking a picture of yourself

Some people end up living life and travelling solely through the lens of a camera. By missing all the periphery action, they not only don’t get the whole picture, they are out of it all together.

https://wealworldtravel.com/2015/11/04/wellness-wednesday-mindfulness-your-business/

A few weeks ago, the Wellness Wednesday post was on mindfulness. Take this a step further and be mindful without a camera. Put yourself in the picture without taking it.

While pictures can capture something tangible and provide a visual record of things you saw, it can’t fully convey the feelings you felt in being there; the excitement, the electricity, the awe. Cameras aren’t perfect either and even the best equipment available can’t replicate the brilliance of colour in natural light. The focal point as determined by the photographer can often filter out other points of interest and present a limited and biased view of an involved scene.

Sometimes the best moments occur while we are too busy fiddling with exposure, lighting and depth of field. Travel is all about the experience: different culture and language; new people, sights, tastes, smells, etc. and the best pictures are often those experiences that get imprinted on our heart and replayed in our mind.