Tag: be present

Photography and Being Present (5-6-20)

Bond of Brothers by David Lloyd

Happy Wednesday,

This is our last in the series inspired by art.  We started with painting over our mistakes, reflected on how mosaics are what true inclusion is about, explored how messiness is often the price of greatness, and last week was about what we see in a painting and situation.  This week is about photography and being present.  The photos come from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2020/jan/01/the-best-of-2019-wildlife-photography-awards-in-pictures. 

Photography has always fascinated me, because at its heart it is about capturing a moment.  The camera can’t dwell on the past, replaying the mistakes it has made and the things it wishes it could do over.  The camera can’t get lost in the future, worrying about what might come to be.  Instead, the camera can only capture what is in front of it in that specific moment.

How does this connect to life?  There is incredible power in photography, because it is fully present.  The photo captures that one moment in time in all its beauty, joy, sadness, pain, splendor, or any other emotion.  To see a picture is to be brought to that moment and nowhere else.  I often find myself lost in the past or the future, concerned about things I did or worried about what might come.  I get lost in the business of the day to day grind and stop seeing what is in front of me.  As I reflect, I wish sometimes that I was more like a photographer with their camera, fully immersed in the moment, taking it all in, and experiencing all that moment has to offer.  I wish I did that better as a husband, a dad, a friend, an employee, and a human.

The challenge: How can you do better at living in the moment?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lessons Learned from being a Dad Part 7 Be Present (5-3-17)

This is going to be the last in our current series about lessons I’ve learned since becoming a dad.  We’ve talked about reinforcing “youness,” collaborating vs. competing, the value of a blanket, and finally how doing small things can make something special.  This week we are going to end with the most important lesson I’ve learned, the power of being present.

A little while ago, I went to my first ever daddy daughter dance with Alice.  Before going to the dance I took her out to eat at Dairy Queen, because she wanted ice cream for dinner.  After dinner we went to the dance, broke out some sweet dance moves, and played.  Alice was incredibly excited about the whole thing and told everyone how much fun she had.  She said that her favorite part was having time with me.  (Is your heart a puddle yet?  Mine totally melted when she said that.  The picture made my heart melt even more.  I’m biased, but look at that smile on her face plus that bald guy is gorgeous.)

Here’s the thing.  Even though we did some cool things, the best thing to her was that I was there.  I was fully present with her for the entire night.  No phone.  No distractions.  Just us.  Over my 5 years of being a dad I’ve realized that my kids want toys and things like any other normal kid, but the thing they want the most is someone to be there and present with them.  They want someone to enter their world, someone to play with, someone to give them love and attention. 

This is the part where I’m supposed to lie and say that I’m such an amazing parent that I’m always 100% present.  Not true.  I get distracted by everything pulling at me 24/7.  There’s always more work to be done, another email to answer, etc.  It’s easy to get lost in this, and in my case lose the precious time I have with my two little girls and my wife.  I don’t get this right every day, but I do try every day to do better. 

Work connection.  Similar to my kids, I think we all want people who are there and present with us.  We want colleagues, mentors, leaders, etc. who can sit down and truly be with us.  We understand that time is so valuable, and that the greatest gift someone can give us is their time and attention.  This isn’t easy though.  There are distractions at home and there are distractions in the office.  How many times have you been having a conversation with a person while they were answering emails and texts?  Sure, you might have been talking to them, but they weren’t really there.  How did that make you feel?  How many times are you the person who is doing the texting or distracted when people are talking to you?  How often are you truly 100% present?

The challenge: How can you be more present?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry