Picture Perfect

It’s normal to have a hard time celebrating others when we’re struggling. I wrote this journal over 3.5 years ago when I was walking through my own challenges. I love celebrating others, cheering on friends and family. But when life gets dark, that can be daunting. I searched for the opportunity to look away from my own life and celebrate others, knowing that my burdens will not last forever.

I love to share pictures because I love my family…

I don’t post much because, while a picture speaks 1000 words, it cannot possibly tell the whole story. A picture captures a moment in time people want to remember, typically for happy, positive reasons; moments of love, joy, accomplishment, simple pleasures, etc. But what we seem to be forgetting are the stories behind the pictures.

Most of the pictures I want to share fall into the categories above and therefore give people the impression that I want to show “my perfect life.” Honestly, that couldn't be further from the truth. My life is beautifully imperfect, as are the lives of everyone else. We have pain, insecurity, illness, mistakes, flaws, etc. But we don’t take pictures of those moments because we don’t need or want a reminder. There’s nothing wrong with that - it’s human nature and quite honestly, unnecessary, and weird unless you’re a photographic artist. We don’t hire photographers for funerals, divorces, or any of life’s disappointments. That’s why we don’t frame and hang our teen’s mug shot in the house…. right???

Behind our sharable, preservable milestones, we all have moments (ok maybe even weeks and beyond) of imperfect, painful, embarrassing events. That’s life… these moments are part of what makes each life individually beautiful and each perfectly imperfect moment worth experiencing.

So… When you see pictures on Facebook, Instagram, etc, please try not to judge, compare or roll your eyes and comment about how “blah-blah” is posting again (ok, some people are out of hand). Instead, try to smile and offer a little happiness for the person that had a moment of pride and joy that he/she wanted to share.

Judgment is usually misplaced self-criticism. Try this instead, with self-compassion, ask yourself, what is it you want for your own life? And what’s holding you back?

Want to take a closer look? Book a free Wake-Up Call with me to explore this without self-criticism.