Enjoy Your Meal Without Posting About it on Social Media
Who doesn’t love food!?
A life without the pleasures of food will undoubtedly be less exciting.
Food is one of the many go-to factors of life that we can feel easily grateful for.
Like with anything, good high-quality food takes time.
Patience, care, and dedication are required like with everything else that is great in life.
No wonder we post dishes on social media, especially when we don’t really know what else to post about 😀
Food always does well. Most of the time.
Especially when you’re in a totally different continent where you witness meals you didn’t know could look like that!
When I see a photo of a dish that someone posted, I’m keen to check if the person is mentioning the ingredients.
If the goal is to teach, then they are included.
Oftentimes the photo represents a moment of “the good life”.
Nothing wrong with that.
What is fascinating though is the number of effort people put into taking and posting these photos.
I’ve been in various restaurants where I see people treating taking a simple photo as some complex project that has to be right.
Sometimes there are levels of stress involved.
In those moments I wonder: why do you find it important to take that photo? Who are you doing this for?
This process can take quite some time…
The angle isn’t right, or dozens of photos have to be taken first.
That’s not the end of it of course.
Now there is the challenge to choose the best one!
When that’s finally done, there is some extra contemplation regarding which filters would match perfectly with that photo.
Of course, this entire process has to happen right there and then.
This is not a process that is happening after the meal.
As you can guess, sometimes the food gets cold and the stress continues.
Now the person doesn’t stress because they have to post the meal on social media, they stress because they have to eat fast.
Witnessing this whole undertaking does make me think: where does this desire to share with everyone real-time come from!?
Why does everyone need to know right here right now?
This is just an example of why we miss out on opportunities to enjoy the moment.
We bring extra concerns with us no matter where we are or what we do.
We feel the world needs to know what we do and they should know it now.
Relax.
The world can wait.
Yes, your meal looks fantastic, but the only person who will eat it is you.
Take that photo if you want, but then put your phone back in your pocket.
Leave it there during your entire restaurant experience.
Savor the food. Enjoy the smell and taste.
Be one with your meal and the person at your table.
Don’t invite the world to such intimate moments.
Own those moments.
A joyful life is just a series of happy moments.
Allow the happy moments and stop being busy trying to get a joyful life.
Experiencing such great moments right there and then, that’s the key to a happy life.
Originally published at https://www.socialmediabreakup.com on January 11, 2021.