A life lived
I've been thinking, I need to take more pictures. I mean, landscapes, sunsets/sunrises, fun things, they're all awesome, but what about the mean streets, so to speak?
Thinking back, I remember seeing many, many pictures chronicling my Grandmother's lives. Most are reflecting happy times, but there are a few that aren't so happy...weddings, funerals, births, times of prosperity and times of want. My Grandmother on my Mom's side had more of these than the other...Grandma on Dad's side were pretty much good times, even though some of the people in her pictures were ones that she wasn't quite cordial with afterwards. And that got me to reflect on my chronicling. Most of my pictures show happy times, fun times; sunsets, landscapes and animals. But, I have noticed I have a few that show more than I am comfortable with.
One picture shows me noticeably thin, dark circles, but a smile nonetheless. I tried to look happy, but the camera captured what I was trying to hide. I was stressed, beaten down, and far from happy. Another shows the opposite end of too thin. I over-compensated later in life and had more rolls than a bakery. Those are the pictures that aren't frequently shared, and not shown on social media. I mean, I like to be transparent, that way people know what to expect, but I noticed there are very few that showcase me in a not-so-happy light.
We are a picture-happy society. There are selfies galore, "can you take our picture" pictures...all reflecting happy faces, happy times, and filtered, some more heavily than others, events and people. But are we doing ourselves, and our descendants any favors? When they look back at the pictures, will they see only the happy, and not the sad, or challenging? If we want to chronicle our lives, we have to chronicle it all, the good, the bad, and all of the warts and scars.
So, the question is why? Because to only show the good and happy, we present a disservice to them, and only half of what our lives were like. They will assume that we were happy all the time, no adversity ever came our way, but if the history shows the not so happy, the sad, the frustrating, the overweight and underweight of it all, then they have a more complete picture.
The life of Paul is one such chronicle, albeit in writing. He wrote, or had someone write his life down, warts and all. The mission to persecute the infant Christian church, the participation in Stephen's martyrdom, then the Damascus road, the persecution he himself endured. He became the most prolific of the New Testament authors. He pulled no punches, writing everything down, whether it was being shipwrecked, being boiled in oil (and surviving), or having someone he trusted turn on him.
David is another, and probably the most thought of when one thinks of someone from the Bible. The books encased in Psalms reflect his struggle. I would like to think that if pictures were the norm, like they are now, that his life would have been shown in living color. The defeat of Goliath, the welcome from Saul, the flight from Saul, and all of the other instances that are recorded in the Old Testament books.
The thing with the Modern Age, no one hardly writes anything down. But pictures? Man, they abound.
When our children, their children, their children's-children, and on down the line look at your life, will the 'picture' they see be a complete one? Will they only see the happy times, and not the challenges, the trials, the setbacks?
I encourage you, and myself as well, to chronicle your life not only in pictures, but in the written word as well...knowing this age of the digital picture, I'd venture to say most of the history will be pictorial rather than written, but it's a challenge I'm offering up to you.
Are you up to the challenge of showing your life lived?
Thinking back, I remember seeing many, many pictures chronicling my Grandmother's lives. Most are reflecting happy times, but there are a few that aren't so happy...weddings, funerals, births, times of prosperity and times of want. My Grandmother on my Mom's side had more of these than the other...Grandma on Dad's side were pretty much good times, even though some of the people in her pictures were ones that she wasn't quite cordial with afterwards. And that got me to reflect on my chronicling. Most of my pictures show happy times, fun times; sunsets, landscapes and animals. But, I have noticed I have a few that show more than I am comfortable with.
One picture shows me noticeably thin, dark circles, but a smile nonetheless. I tried to look happy, but the camera captured what I was trying to hide. I was stressed, beaten down, and far from happy. Another shows the opposite end of too thin. I over-compensated later in life and had more rolls than a bakery. Those are the pictures that aren't frequently shared, and not shown on social media. I mean, I like to be transparent, that way people know what to expect, but I noticed there are very few that showcase me in a not-so-happy light.
We are a picture-happy society. There are selfies galore, "can you take our picture" pictures...all reflecting happy faces, happy times, and filtered, some more heavily than others, events and people. But are we doing ourselves, and our descendants any favors? When they look back at the pictures, will they see only the happy, and not the sad, or challenging? If we want to chronicle our lives, we have to chronicle it all, the good, the bad, and all of the warts and scars.
So, the question is why? Because to only show the good and happy, we present a disservice to them, and only half of what our lives were like. They will assume that we were happy all the time, no adversity ever came our way, but if the history shows the not so happy, the sad, the frustrating, the overweight and underweight of it all, then they have a more complete picture.
The life of Paul is one such chronicle, albeit in writing. He wrote, or had someone write his life down, warts and all. The mission to persecute the infant Christian church, the participation in Stephen's martyrdom, then the Damascus road, the persecution he himself endured. He became the most prolific of the New Testament authors. He pulled no punches, writing everything down, whether it was being shipwrecked, being boiled in oil (and surviving), or having someone he trusted turn on him.
David is another, and probably the most thought of when one thinks of someone from the Bible. The books encased in Psalms reflect his struggle. I would like to think that if pictures were the norm, like they are now, that his life would have been shown in living color. The defeat of Goliath, the welcome from Saul, the flight from Saul, and all of the other instances that are recorded in the Old Testament books.
The thing with the Modern Age, no one hardly writes anything down. But pictures? Man, they abound.
When our children, their children, their children's-children, and on down the line look at your life, will the 'picture' they see be a complete one? Will they only see the happy times, and not the challenges, the trials, the setbacks?
I encourage you, and myself as well, to chronicle your life not only in pictures, but in the written word as well...knowing this age of the digital picture, I'd venture to say most of the history will be pictorial rather than written, but it's a challenge I'm offering up to you.
Are you up to the challenge of showing your life lived?
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