It's funny how certain things can hit you differently at different moments, isn't it? It can be a place you've been to a million times, but it might be that one time you just feel a bit more emotion returning to it, or it can be a song you hear over and over again, yet it can be that one time it brings you to tears.
No matter what it is, certain moments may bring you to feel a bit more emotion then others. Certain moments may make you stop in your tracks and force you to think. Moments that maybe never have before.
I'm not sure what is was, but it was this picture that did it to me. Instantly, it brought me to one of 'those moments'.
Last September we took a trip to Ireland. It was beautiful and welcoming and the weather was actually quite lovely most of the time. We were busy going from place to place and of course, me being a photographer, I took an ungodly amount of pictures.
I've looked through the images on my phone since then, here and there, my smiling boys standing beside ruins that are still attempting to stand the test of time. Fluffy sheep out in open green fields and beautiful, sandy beaches. Yet lately I've been going through the images I've captured with my actual camera. (Not just the camera on my phone).
I have so many images, so many I am excited to share in time. Yet as I came across this image, it made me stop.
This image was not just another picture of my boy to save among my files, but I actually, deeply felt it. My son, sitting alone along the shore. I have so many pictures like this, for spending time near the water is his favorite. Yet this image felt different. This image I can feel his solitude, his deep thoughts, his stillness.
But it was not just that...
What this image really made me think about was this...
When my son is grown what will this world be like for him? What will happen in his life when I am gone? Will he find quiet places like this to just 'be'? Will he look back on his childhood and remember it as good? Will the mistakes I've made have taught him to be better? Will he love all I've raised him to love, in the way I've raised him to love?
Kind of heavy...isn't it?
For some strange reason, this picture put me years and years into the future. My son is only eleven, but he looks so grown up here, in a way that really made me revisit my perspective on things.
And of course, I've had all of these thoughts before, and of course, looking at pictures always seems to bring on emotions. I guess it's just strange how some of these thoughts and emotions seem to not only come out of no where at times, but come on so strong as well.
Life is short and childhood is even shorter. The words I say to my son and the things we do and the places we visit and the time we spend together goes by in such a flash, yet it will all sit here with my son forever.
That's a big thought to take on.
But you know what...it's a good thought...for each and every one of us.
That's because it's also a thought that will help you remain grounded against this mad rush of life. The truth to the fact the way we do and say things matter. They matter deeply to the ones we love and to the ones who love us in return.
Being intentional with our words and actions will not only make things good in the moment, but for some it can leave a deep, lifelong lasting impression that will reach them in their quietest moments, maybe even while sitting all alone along the shore somewhere along the coast of Ireland.
Talk soon...
