Instagram infatuation.

Remember when…

You had to buy film?
You could only take 24 photos before changing the roll?
You had to wait 24 hours before you could see if your photos turned out?
You exposed film and lost your precious memories?
You could say “Kodak moment” and people knew what you meant?
You had to mail pictures via snail mail?

I remember those days.

And sometimes, for fleeting seconds, I miss those days.

But then. I punch a super-secret code into my phone and ta-da – I
am in someone else’s world.

With one touch, I am viewing photos from around the world or staring at an image I have viewed up close and personal. These foreign and familiar objects pull me away from wherever I’m standing and for an instant, I allow myself to take in the beauty that some complete stranger captured with their camera phone.

The images shared by amateurs and professionals are breathtakingly beautiful and downright odd. Photos of people and food, shoes and hands, sunsets and trees. It’s all their. For the world to see, your take on the people and places you love.

And this form of photo sharing excites me. Not because I have, or even want, a million followers; rather, I want to open my eyes to what other people see. I want to experience places I’ll probably never visit and bask in their light and beauty for just one moment.

Back when I used film, I didn’t know what I was missing. But now, with Instagram, I know that the world is big, round, and full of beauty everywhere you bring your phone.

@mnmeditations if you want to follow me on Instagram.