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This is just me, mouthing off...
Jun. 28th, 2011 08:52 amThere is a kerfluffle going on in our Tradition's (as in Wiccan Tradition) online forums.
Two of our members got Handfasted (our name for the marriage ceremony), a week or so ago, and, two of the people in attendance happen to have training as photographers (I even think that, one of them, is actually working in the field), so, of course, they were there, snapping away, with fancy schmancy cameras that I probably can't afford (but would like to own, so, so bad).
Then, some other people also took other pictures sporadically.
All of the above people posted some on our private, invitation only, area of the web. (Okay, so private forums can be hacked, but we're not a big enough group to worry too much about that.)
Now, I can totally understand that, even though it's a private forum, some people are still iffy about their pictures being online. I mean, someone might save them to their computer, than re-post them on Facebook without thinking, and not everyone is comfortable with that, for various reasons. I get that.
One of the people who complained, however, complained that on top of that, they felt like people weren't "in the moment" while taking photographs. That it also prevented others from being "in the moment", and that this was, somehow, spiritually damaging, and intrusive to the whole day, and basically speaking on the behalf of the people whose day it was. (They, by the way, were really happy with people taking pictures, including some of the ones that were taking on cellphones!)
It really irks me because this person is a good person, but she complains about a lot of stuff in normal, contemporary living, that it's all disconnected from our spiritual selves and that records of life events should be in our hearts and souls only, not printed or recorded on paper.
I journal electronically, I take digital pictures (it's actually better for the environment), I seek spiritual information online, in books and in my own exploration, I would rather hike for exercise and the scenery than to just see the scenery and possibly see entities. I consider myself to be in the "here and now" and "in the moment" simultaneously, and that one does not cancel out the other, and I don't feel like my spirituality is damaged by it. Everything I do is inspired in some way by my spirituality, and, yes, even my fandom activities. I probably wouldn't be half as creative if I wasn't good at visualizing. Our spirituality isn't one of reject of modern life and conveniences, but rather, of embracing it all as helpful tools to live fully one's spirituality.
With that said, I totally embrace that some people prefer to live on the fringe and choose to not use modern technology more than necessary. But to expect everyone else and society to do the same would be foolish.
Two of our members got Handfasted (our name for the marriage ceremony), a week or so ago, and, two of the people in attendance happen to have training as photographers (I even think that, one of them, is actually working in the field), so, of course, they were there, snapping away, with fancy schmancy cameras that I probably can't afford (but would like to own, so, so bad).
Then, some other people also took other pictures sporadically.
All of the above people posted some on our private, invitation only, area of the web. (Okay, so private forums can be hacked, but we're not a big enough group to worry too much about that.)
Now, I can totally understand that, even though it's a private forum, some people are still iffy about their pictures being online. I mean, someone might save them to their computer, than re-post them on Facebook without thinking, and not everyone is comfortable with that, for various reasons. I get that.
One of the people who complained, however, complained that on top of that, they felt like people weren't "in the moment" while taking photographs. That it also prevented others from being "in the moment", and that this was, somehow, spiritually damaging, and intrusive to the whole day, and basically speaking on the behalf of the people whose day it was. (They, by the way, were really happy with people taking pictures, including some of the ones that were taking on cellphones!)
It really irks me because this person is a good person, but she complains about a lot of stuff in normal, contemporary living, that it's all disconnected from our spiritual selves and that records of life events should be in our hearts and souls only, not printed or recorded on paper.
I journal electronically, I take digital pictures (it's actually better for the environment), I seek spiritual information online, in books and in my own exploration, I would rather hike for exercise and the scenery than to just see the scenery and possibly see entities. I consider myself to be in the "here and now" and "in the moment" simultaneously, and that one does not cancel out the other, and I don't feel like my spirituality is damaged by it. Everything I do is inspired in some way by my spirituality, and, yes, even my fandom activities. I probably wouldn't be half as creative if I wasn't good at visualizing. Our spirituality isn't one of reject of modern life and conveniences, but rather, of embracing it all as helpful tools to live fully one's spirituality.
With that said, I totally embrace that some people prefer to live on the fringe and choose to not use modern technology more than necessary. But to expect everyone else and society to do the same would be foolish.
