Saturday morning I woke up to the sun peeking over the horizon. I walked out onto my balcony with a steaming hot cup of coffee in one hand and my iPhone in the other. The view was stunning; an orange, yellow glow grew over the city.

At least, that is what I saw in the consecutive pictures taken with my iPhone camera.

Is this worrisome, that my initial response to nature’s beauty is now to capture it through the lens of my cell phone?

In our world today, cell phones, tablets and laptops are a constant and growing phenomenon that we generally cannot escape. The continued expansion of the communications revolution is a beautiful and incredible thing, but it has become so all-consuming that it can be challenging sometimes to be attentive, still and aware in the moment.

Imagine: How Creativity Works is a book by neuroscientist Jonah Lehrer that will be released in March. In his book, he talks about high-level creativity that perpetuates from inactivity of the brain. Scientists call this creative area of the brain “the default network”, which is only stimulated when all other parts of the brain are inactive.

I guess what I’m saying is that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to put down our iPhones and iPads for just a minute and be present, allow ourselves to be inspired by our surroundings and open our minds to new ideas.