That’s me, a younger Beth, connecting with all that is and enjoying a perfect sit spot on the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska.  An interesting setting and yet I had never shared this picture taken many moons ago.  A few days ago, I had a coffee with a friend and we were chatting about how social media has changed the landscape of how we share our life experiences.  Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and other platforms allow us to instantly, from anywhere in the world, show everyone our every move.  Nineteen years ago when I climbed Kilimanjaro I had to wait till I was back at my hotel in Arusha to phone my family to share that I had successfully summited and was safe and sound.  I had to wait another few weeks to get home and have my photographs developed before I could show my big “I did it” moment.  Further back from there, my Dad was born in 1925 in Rhodesia, Africa and his parents wrote a letter home to Canada to share the good news of his arrival.  I am not saying one is better or worse than the other, but I do believe that before all of the instant gratification of sharing moments our brain was better at taking a mental snapshot to carve into our memory.  I believe we savoured the special moment, in the moment, a little longer. This image of me at Matanuska Glacier has long been etched in my mind and I had to go back into old photographs to retrieve to share here.  Interestingly enough when I found the picture, I was transported back to that place in time and I was able to reconnect with that moment and it completely aligned with the snapshot in my memory.  My point here is when we are posting our countless social media sharing let’s take a moment to really savour the moment, before we press the share button. 

By Beth Montgomery