Today I find myself thinking about authenticity and intent.

Recently, while scrolling Instagram in what I thought was a fairly innocuous attempt to gain inspiration and ideas, I came across a post. It stated: Spend less time watching other people live their lives and spend more time enjoying your own. It hit me hard and left me feeling sick. I put my phone down immediately. It also changed my perception of social media significantly.

You all must be thinking at I am a total dolt and late to making this very obvious realization. The challenge is that somehow I thought that I was immune to the trappings of social media. I am a visually stimulated person that loves design so I thought that I was different. However, before Instagram, I would waste hours on Pinterest and before Pinterest, I had an addiction to magazines. (Don't even get me started on reality TV.) Now while I justified this time as my creative outlet, while on it, I wasn’t creating a damn thing. I was consuming. And consuming. And consuming. Sure, all of it fed my aesthetic and certainly inspired me to tackle a big renovation; however, that was 9 years ago. I haven’t really done anything creative since.

The post made that very clear. It also made me question my motives. Was I really gaining inspiration or just escaping? How much of my life had I already wasted? What if I channeled all of that time and energy into something else?

So, I decided to take a break. We won’t be posting photos of the trip while on the trip. For one, I want us to be present. Secondarily, I don’t want to paint this romantic picture that may not reflect the whole experience.

I am sure that we will eventually upload photos to the blog and Instagram, but only once I am clear on the intent and I am sure that the photos authentically represent what we have experienced. Or, we may just keep them for ourselves.