My husband and I went to see U2 at Vanderbilt Stadium last Saturday night – it was one of the most fantastic shows I’ve seen. Not only was the stage setup amazing, these guys can still rock it with the best of them. I also loved the opening act, Florence & The Machine. I’ve been a fan of theirs for a while now. It was an amazing evening I’ll always remember.
So you are probably wondering what’s my point here. I mean, this is a blog about organizing or staging or simple living. Well, in a way, the post is. It’s about what happened to make me completely in the moment at U2.
We meet up with some friends for dinner before the show. I’ve got all my stuff packed up (being organized and all). My iPhone, my camera, money, ID, etc. I’m psyched because I’m planning on facebooking a lot of the show, taking photos to post and share, and I’m so ready to follow and contribute to the twitter stream about the show. The place was swarming with people, it was over 95 degrees and the stadium was brimming with excitement. I took a few shots on my iPhone when we got there, then realized that I forgot my flip video. Gaaah! I wanted to film some of the songs. Oh well, I could still stay in touch electronically. Or could I?
Even though I had full bars, I had nothing. Nada. Couldn’t upload to facebook or even update. Couldn’t access my tweetdeck. Couldn’t even text. I suspect with the over-abundance of technology in the arena – phones and video as far as I could see – circuits were jammed. I tried taking more pics with my phone and camera but the lights from the stage were so strong and numerous that all my shots were overexposed and impossible to make out any detail. I started to panic! Then I thought….you know, why don’t I just watch the show. Not through a screen. But in real life. So I did. And it was great.
I started thinking about how many times I’ve experienced something virtually instead of really being there. The last time my daughter tested for a taekwondo belt. The chickens chasing each other with spaghetti up the hill. When we took our lab to the river. At the outdoor concert at the park. Each time, I’m spending more time posting about what I’m doing, filming or snapping pics, and thinking about how I can condense my thoughts into 140 characters or less, than actually being there.
So my new philosophy, or should I say , challenge, is to be in the moment. Not behind a screen. Wish me luck!
