The Symbol of Pure Enjoyment (Article#15)

"Did I miss taking photos, at this location?", "Did I miss capturing all the special moments, in this event?", "Did I post the selected photos, on my social accounts?", "How many people checked, liked and commented under the photos I posted on my social accounts?", "Oh my god! The memory of my smart phone is already full. How could I quickly make the room for new photos? Which photos should I delete?"

As millions of people across the planet have unknowingly made their shiny smart phones the fragile mirror of their personal and social lives, these questions are bothering them throughout the day and sometimes even making them loose their good sleep at night. Isn’t it the darkest and hopeless situation that the majority of modern and digitally well-connected society has brought itself into? Do you find yourself in the same?

On 15th September 2015, at the premiere of Black Mass movie, thousands of fans in Boston (Massachusetts) city were waiting to get a glimpse of the stars, including Johnny Depp. As the stars arrived at the spot, almost everybody got busy taking their photos. Those few who were standing closer to the roadside barricades didn’t miss the ‘golden’ opportunity to take a few selfies with their beloved stars.

Johnny Depp talking to media

Most of them seemed to have simply forgotten that they could just look at the stars with their naked eyes and stores their images in their own memories. Fans were behaving as if they were competing in a fierce photographic contest, without any prize to the winners. During those moments, a special photo taken by Boston Globe newspaper’s photographer John Blanding motivated me to write this article.

In the photo, everybody else is holding smart phones in their hands and most are busy taking photos of the movie stars. An unknown old lady is silently standing out as “The Symbol of Pure Enjoyment”. While the fans seemed to have lost the sense of enjoying once-in-the-lifetime meeting with the stars, the lady has completely soaked herself in the deep pool of enjoyment, with a serene smile.

Image Courtesy: John Blanding (Boston Globe)
(Click or tap the image to enlarge)

The very purpose of this article is to motivate people to keep their sense of enjoyment intact from the addictive validations of social media. Also, if there’s going to an encyclopedia about modern human civlization then this photo is definitely going to make its place in the same as this unknown lady has made her place in the hearts of the people across the globe.

Next time, consciously try to pick, detect or single out such person in the whole crowd, while you’re surrounded by the people who are busy taking photos. While doing the same, slowly but surely, it’s quite possible that you’ll regain the sense of pure enjoyment. Best Wishes!