…but when I watch this video, I see too much of me:
MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
You didn't see me in there at all did you. Well, at least not literally, but what did you see? Flashes of many, many places: beautiful places, memorable places, some breath-taking, others shockingly simple. But just flashes. There were scenes of some of man's most magnificent architectural handiwork, but you barely got to notice. There were some of the most drop-dead gorgeous places on earth, if you could linger for the less-than-one-second each site was awarded.
I'm certain there was a large budget for this short, one minute film. Oh, the camera was probably not that costly. I'm guessing the "actors" had no contract, laced with built-in incentive clauses. No, the budget had to have been substantial simply for the travel alone. These look like the kind of young men who could be frugal in where they stayed…once they got to their destination. And they needn't have stayed long at each location. But to have so many stopping places along their trek couldn't have come cheap. Then there's the time spent in editing hours of video work in order to make sure you got just the right cut in order to keep each of the guys as close to the center of the shot as possible.
Yet I'd asked if you'd seen me––or yourself––in this video footage.
"I don't follow, Kevin; you're going to have to help me a bit here" is what you're probably thinking in your head.
I'm sure it's not the intent of this clip, but inadvertently (most likely, anyway) man was at the center of all this. Not the places. Not the sites. Not any of the other fascinating people. Not even the doors in the one sequence that actually didn't have them walking/looking toward the viewer. No, there "I" am, with all God's marvels around me, and what do I want people to see, to notice, to think about more than His handiwork? Me. Man.
Perhaps a therapist would tell me something deep and profound by this observation, but pride is one of the sins I struggle with more than any other. "It has to be about me!" is what my prideful flesh screams. Let them think you're clever. Let them think you're creative. Let them think you're artistic. Allow them glimpses of glory and beauty and complexity, but don't allow them to focus on any of those things for long. Instead, have man––me––at the heart of it all.
So; did you see me in there at all? Or was it you?
Be my therapist for a moment and let me know what you're thinking.