I saw Mumford & Sons on Friday night and it was AMAZING and…all I have to show for it are the three photos you see above.

That’s right…I took three photos the whole night.

Not because I made a rule for myself. I just didn’t feel the pull to keep reaching for my phone. Although when I saw the moon peeking out behind the big screen by me, I felt called to capture it at different parts of the evening.

But all around me, I noticed how often other people kept pulling out their phones.

There was one woman near me—clearly a fan, wearing a shirt from a past tour and singing all the songs—who recorded almost the entire concert. Not just holding her phone up, but zooming in, zooming out, adjusting, reframing.

And I caught myself wondering…What was her experience of the concert?

Did she truly experience it by capturing all that footage?

I genuinely don’t know. Maybe she’s watched those videos a dozen times already. Maybe capturing it is part of how she enjoys it.

But it made me curious about something I’ve been noticing more and more in myself too.

How often am I reaching for my phone automatically instead of actually being in the moment?

Because these little devices we carry are incredible. They connect us. They let us capture memories instantly. They let us share our lives, our work, our ideas.

But somewhere along the way, taking a photo stopped being a choice and started becoming a reflex.

And I feel that in myself.

I’ll be out by the river I’ve seen hundreds of times, and something about the light hits just right. And before I even fully take it in, my phone is already in my hand.

I take the photo.

But do I ever go back to it?

Sometimes. But not often.

And in that moment, I’ve shifted out of experiencing it and into capturing it. Instead of just being there.

Again, I’m not saying we should stop taking photos.

Photos tell a story and hold memories. They help us share pieces of our lives with each other. For many of us, they’re even part of how we do our work.

But I am wondering…

What would it feel like to bring just a little more intention back into it?

To pause, even for a second, before pulling out the phone and ask:

Do I want to capture this…or experience it?

Because when I think back to that concert, I don’t remember the photos I took (well, I do remember that middle moon photo!)

I remember the feeling of dancing with friends and the sound of thousands of voices singing together.

And that’s all I need to remember…that feeling of joy and being in the moment. I’ll keep that one moon photo to share with friends but that’s it. The other two have been deleted.

The rest of the evening lives in my memory….

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Your Invitations This Week

1. Notice the reflex: Pay attention to the moment you reach for your phone to take a photo or video. Don’t stop yourself…just notice. Did it feel automatic or intentional?
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2. Return to one photo: Pick a photo you’ve taken recently and spend a few minutes with it. What does it bring back? What do you remember that isn’t in the frame?
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3. Or try none at all: If you’re feeling up to it, choose one small experience this week that you might normally take photos at and don’t document it. Let it exist only as something you lived.

I’d love to hear what you notice if you play with this.

Sending love and musical vibes, Chris

PS: If you want to create more space or intentionality with your devices, here are three ways we can work together.

• ​Spark Session: A one-hour coaching session designed to help you slow down, see what needs to shift, and create more space in the life you already have.
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• ​Color Me Unplugged: Mindful coloring books, digital pages, and creative workshops designed to help busy humans slow down, unplug, and reconnect.
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• ​Personal Reset: Want to carve out some real time to pause and reset but not sure where to start? Whether it’s one day or a few, we can map it out together. Reply to this email, or schedule time on my calendar to talk face to face.