So Much More Than Pictures

Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest. Today we can photograph a moment and it will disappear within a day. You can share a story or an album that may get some likes and shares but after a few hours it’s been buried deep in your timeline and forgotten. We take so many, many, pictures. These snippets in time are easily captured, but just as quickly discarded. When you only have a few photographs to hold, a few moments to look back on – they become so much more precious.

I have three, maybe four pictures of my dad. And even fewer memories. I was only two when he died so I don’t have much to remember him by. But I can tell you what I do have. I have a handful of photos taken of him with people that I love, doing the same things that I love, in a place that I love.

I can go and stand where he stood and walk where he walked. I can hear the same waves and dip my toe in the same water. I can watch the same sun come to rest at the end of the day. And lie back watching stars come to life under the same night sky.
So keep taking the photos, please. But leave more than that in your path. Wander, explore, and adventure around this wonderful world. Take the vacation. Hike the mountain. Share the joy of your favorite places. Leave a trail for those who follow behind you. And when you are gone, they will have so much more than pictures.

(Originally posted June 16, 2019)