As I continue my multi-year quest to simplify my home to a small amount of items, I tackled the buckets of photos I've accumulated over time. Most of the photos are ten years old or more since more recent photos are stored on my phone and computer (those files also require some organization).
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| This was one of the photos I unearthed. This photo reminded me of so many good memories and perspectives. The memory of new motherhood, holidays at my childhood home, my mom's favorite decorations, and the beauty of the people I love. |
As I sorted many, many photos, I found the task to be an emotional one too. Looking at all those old photos reminded me of so many good times and good people past. We rarely photograph the miserable moments in life, so the sort brought me on a journey into past good times. There were countless photos in the mountains or at the beach. There were also many photos of birthday parties, weddings, holidays, sports events, and other happy occasions. Clearly throughout my life, I've found myself repeating the good times and wonderful traditions year after year--traditions and good times my parents and their parents and likely their parents too engaged in.
The picture sort made me think about the kinds of events we photograph. Obviously taking too many photos of the same event is wasteful as I ended up throwing out a lot of duplicates even though it feels wrong to throw out photos. Yet, taking a few photos of special events is the right thing to do since looking back and reliving those events brings great joy and a positive perspective.
As I looked at photos of myself during some of life's most trying times, I found myself regretting how bad I felt about myself during those days. The photos showed a healthy, young woman, yet at times, the people around me made me feel like there was nothing of value in me or about me at those times. How crazy was that? That reflection made me realize that we have to do what we can to enrich and uplift the lives around us--we need people to recognize how wonderful they are just as they are rather than finding fault with people and holding them up to unreasonable and unproductive expectations. See people's strengths; celebrate those strengths, and find ways to help people at every age recognize their strengths and gifts. That's so important.
A photo sort is an emotional event, but it is the kind of event that reminds you about who and what are important in your life.
The next step is to organize the photos I sorted in ways that tell important stories for the people I love--In some cases, I'll complete that step with good people in my life. Onward.
